18 Wednesday Mar 2020
Posted in nature, spring, wildflowers
Yesterday’s star finds, during a walk around Grangemoor Park, were my first Cuckooflowers of 2020. They’re such dainty little beauties and, with a newly arrived Chiffchaff calling in the trees behind, it felt like Spring really had arrived.
14 Sunday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, spring, wildflowers
I know these gorgeous wildflowers as Cowslips but they have a wealth of other names, including Hey-flowers, Peggles, Paigles, Culverkeys and Bunch of keys, according to the entry in my Flora Britannica. Perhaps you know other local names for them.
One thing I didn’t know until today is that the name Cowslip is a euphemism for ‘cow-slop’ or cow pat because these lovely blooms often grow best in fields that have been well ‘fertilised’ by cows.
p.s. My Facebook friend George has very kindly corrected my flower identification: ‘The first and last photos are false oxlips rather than true cowslips, these are hybrids between cowslips and primroses and have slightly bigger, paler and more open flowers.’ I must pay more attention next time I’m looking at wildflowers!
04 Thursday Apr 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, spring, wildflowers
We’re in the grip of a wintery blast here at the moment, though without the snow my friends in the Valleys have (not) been enjoying. Luckily, I managed to time my stroll around the local parks to coincide with a break in the heavy rain and hail showers, searching for whichever wildflowers I could find in bloom. They’re all rather damp but I quite like them adorned with raindrops.
23 Saturday Mar 2019
Posted in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, nature, spring, wildflowers
Almost …
Nearly there …
Yes! My first Bluebells of the year today in St Augustine’s churchyard in Penarth.
11 Friday May 2018
Posted in flowers, nature, spring, wildflowers
Tags
British wildflowers, crane's bills, geranium, Geranium lucidum, Geranium Robertianum, Geranium rotundifolium, Herb Robert, Round-leaved crane's-bill, Shining crane's-bill, spring flowers, spring wildflowers
The word geranium comes from the Greek geranos, meaning crane, so named because of the likeness of the plant’s seed case to the bill of the bird. Thus, in the plant world, the crane’s-bills are the wild geraniums.
’Tis the time the geraniums begin to bloom and I’m trying to learn which is which, so I thought I’d share a few I’ve found during recent perambulations. The first is the Round-leaved crane’s-bill (Geranium rotundifolium).
This next is the one most people can name. It seems to grow almost anywhere and makes even a rubbish heap look beautiful: Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum).
At a quick glance, this Shining crane’s-bill (Geranium lucidum) looks a lot like Herb Robert … and then you notice how different the leaves are.
04 Friday May 2018
Posted in flowers, nature, spring, wildflowers
Tags
Bluebell, British wildflowers, Cowslip, Garlic mustard, Ground ivy, Ivy-leaved toadflax, Sow thistle, spring wildflowers, Wild garlic
The Spring sunshine has been a little sparse in recent weeks but the wildflowers are slowly continuing to appear. Here are some recent finds …
I couldn’t resist including more Bluebells (Hyacinthoides sp.) as they really encapsulate Spring for so many people.
First come the primroses, then these beauties take over: Cowslips (Primula veris).
You may know it as ‘Jack-by-the-hedge’, so-named for its love of a shady spot by a hedge, this is Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata).
Don’t forget to look down low for this burst of purple goodness. It’s Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea).
Blooming now on a wall near you, Ivy-leaved toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis).
Part of the large and mightily confusing dandelion family, this is one of the Sow thistles (Sonchus sp.).
If you go down to the woods today, make sure you take a peg for your nose … unless, like me, you love the smell of Wild garlic (Allium ursinum).
earthstar 
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