Climbing plants

08 Sunday Sep 2024

Posted by sconzani in plants, wildflowers

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bramble, British wildflowers, climbing plants, Field bindweed, Hedge bindweed, Honeysuckle, ivy, Meadow vetchling, Old Man's Beard

Last week’s challenge for Wildflower Hour on social media was to find climbing plants that were in bloom, and there were lots of wonderful examples of flora with a penchant for climbing. These are some I’ve found locally that are still in flower …

240908 bindweed hedge and field

The bindweeds – these are Hedge bindweed (top) and Field bindweed (below).

240908 ivy bramble

Ivy (it’s only just coming into flower in my area so this was difficult to find) and Bramble (most plants are now covered in delicious berries but I found a couple in bloom).

240908 old mans beard honeysuckle

Old man’s beard (also known as Traveller’s joy) and Honeysuckle.

240908 vetches

The vetches: Tufted vetch and Meadow vetchling (most of the vetches have now finished flowering).

240908 x how they climb

How plants climb:
The twisters: plants like Old man’s beard and Honeysuckle, and the various species of vetch, all twist themselves around other plants to gain support and climb upwards.
The grappler: think of those thorns on Bramble and the many rose species, used like grappling hooks to grab on to anything that will support them.
The clinger: Ivy is a good example of this, producing roots along its stem that help it cling to other plants, as well as to wooden posts, and brick and stone buildings.

The Ivy is a’buzzing

23 Saturday Sep 2023

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects

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Colletes hederae, insects on Ivy, ivy, Ivy bee

After the remnants of Hurricane Lee swept us with gusty winds and heavy rain for a couple of days, it was lovely to walk along the coast in the sunshine on Thursday. And that warm sunshine also brought out the little flying creatures to enjoy the now-flowering Ivy bushes. Migrating Red admirals sucked at their nectar and an assortment of flies, wasps, hoverflies and bees wallowed in the pollen. My favourites were the Ivy bees that only emerge at this time of year to enjoy this early autumn flowering treat.

230923 ivy bee

From flower to berry

02 Thursday Dec 2021

Posted by sconzani in plants

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Hedera helix, ivy, ivy berries, ivy flowers, winter berries

From its nectar-and-pollen-providing flowers to its luscious juicy berries for birds, Ivy is a wonder plant, and I read somewhere recently that it also hosts over 100 species of insect larvae. Amazing!

Incredible Ivy

10 Sunday Jan 2021

Posted by sconzani in flowers, insects, leaves, plants, winter

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Hedera helix, ivy, ivy berries, ivy flowers

I’m not sure I can subscribe to the ancient concept that wearing a wreath of ivy leaves around my head would stop me getting drunk but the leaves are certainly amazing and incredibly diverse in shape, form and colour. Juvenile leaves have between 3 and 5 lobes, while mature leaves have no lobes and can be shaped both like ovals and hearts.

And then there are the flowers, in bloom from September through to November and a source of food for more than 50 insect species, and the subsequent berries, ripe from November to January – or, until the berry-loving winter thrushes, finches, woodpigeons and other hungry birds gobble them all up. What an incredible plant ivy is!

257/365 Ivy bees

14 Saturday Sep 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, autumn, insects, nature, plants

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#365DaysWild, bees, British bees, Colletes hederae, ivy, Ivy bee, ivy flowers

I heard them before I saw them.

190914 ivy bees (7)

I’d been smelling the ivy flowers all day, as I walked one of my local circuits, though Cosmeston along to Lavernock and back to Penarth along the coastal path. But I hadn’t noticed any open flowers until I heard the loud buzzing coming from the ivy ahead of me on the path. It was alive with various species of bee and fly and hoverfly. And then I spotted what I was looking for – the ginger fluff and black-and-yellow-stripes of Ivy bees (Colletes hederae), my first for 2019.

You can find out more about these handsome creatures in my previous blogs here and here.

190914 ivy bees (8)

Feasting on ivy flowers

30 Friday Sep 2016

Posted by sconzani in autumn, flowers, insects, nature

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harlequin ladybird, ivy, ivy flowers, ladybird

160930-ladybird-on-ivy

This little Harlequin ladybird was just one of the many insects – flies and hoverflies, honey bees, bumblebees and wasps, and a Red Admiral butterfly – that were enjoying the nectar and pollen to be found on these ivy flowers, an important source of food for so many insects in the autumn months.

It’s ivy berry time

05 Tuesday Jan 2016

Posted by sconzani in birds, insects, nature, nature photography, winter

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berries, birds, ivy, winter

Though its roots can creep between gaps in stonework causing severe damage to ancient ruins, stone walls, grave monuments and the like, ivy (Hedera helix, also known as English ivy, common ivy or just plain ivy) is of great importance to wildlife. Not only does it provide shelter and nesting places for insects, birds, bats and other beasties, it is also an important food source.

english ivy 1

Ivy’s flowering period begins in August and continues right through to November, sometimes later, and the flowers produce plentiful quantities of nectar and pollen. Over 70 species of nectar-loving insects feast on the flowers, including wasps and bumblebees, Red admiral, Small tortoiseshell and Peacock butterflies.

English ivy

Once the berries begin to ripen, they turn a deep purple-black colour, and provide an important winter source of food when most other berries are finished. At this time, the ivy becomes a favourite snacking place for lots of berry-eating birds, blackbirds and thrushes in particular, but also starlings and jays, finches and wood pigeons.

english ivy 2