341/366 Blooming on the Barrage

06 Sunday Dec 2020

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#winter10, British wildflowers, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff Bay Barrage, winter wildflowers

During Tuesday’s walk across the Barrage in Cardiff Bay, I searched for as many wildflowers in bloom as I could find. I spotted just ten species, but it’s quite a small area and the grounds are frequently cut and strimmed by the Council’s grounds staff, so I thought that was a good number for the time of year. And the list included a few species I don’t see elsewhere, like Viper’s-bugloss (very stunted from the too-frequent cutting), Black nightshade, and Common stork’s-bill.

The wildflowers in the video are Daisy (Bellis perennis), Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale agg.), Common stork’s-bill (Erodium cicutarium), Viper’s-bugloss (Echium vulgare), Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris), Nipplewort (Lapsana communis), Black nightshade (Solanum nigrum), Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum), Smooth sow-thistle (Sonchus oleraceus), and Hoary mustard (Hirschfeldia incana).

356/365 Winter solstice wildflowers

22 Sunday Dec 2019

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, plants, wildflowers, winter

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#WildflowerHour, #winter10, British wildflowers, wildflowers in bloom, winter wildflowers, winter-blooming wildflowers

It may be the shortest day of the year but I’ve found more blooming wildflowers this week than in the previous weeks of wildflowerhour’s winter 10 challenge. Here we have: a Buttercup species; Daisy; one of the many Dandelion species; Hemlock water dropwort; still quite a bit of Herb Robert about; Ivy-leaved toadflax is flourishing in the wet weather; a Knapweed; a lovely surprise, a couple of plants of Musk mallow; Oxeye daisy; plenty of Petty spurge; surprisingly, a few Primroses already in flower (though most partly eaten); Common ragwort; Red clover; quite a lot of Red valerian; what I assume is Sea radish; plenty of Shepherd’s purses; one of the Sowthistles; Violets – sweet, I think; a Thistle species; White clover; an umbellifer which I think is Wild carrot; quite a lot of Winter heliotrope in flower now; Yarrow; and, a bright burst of Yellow corydalis.

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349/365 Another winter 10

15 Sunday Dec 2019

Posted by sconzani in nature, wildflowers, winter

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#WildflowerHour, #winter10, British wildflowers, winter colour, winter wildflowers

I think I could have found more than ten wildflowers in bloom for this week’s wildflowerhour but my walks were a little restricted by the weather and chores. Still, I am happy to have seen these ten: a Buttercup species, Daisy, a Gorse species, Groundsel, Hemlock water dropwort, Ivy-leaved toadflax, Ragwort, Red clover and Red valerian, and the lovely Yarrow.

191215 buttercup sp 191215 daisy 191215 gorse sp 191215 groundsel 191215 Hemlock water dropwort 191215 ivy-leaved toadflax 191215 ragwort 191215 red clover 191215 red valerian 191215 yarrow

342/365 Winter 10, again

08 Sunday Dec 2019

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, plants, wildflowers, winter

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

#WildflowerHour, #winter10, British flora, British wildflowers, wildflowers in bloom, winter wildflowers

Though my title is ‘Winter 10’, I’ve actually found 18 wildflowers in bloom during this week’s meanderings. They are: Bittercress species, Black nightshade, Bristly oxtongue, Daisy, a Gorse species, Groundsel, one of the Hawkbits, Herb Robert, the invasive Himalayan balsam, still one flower of Meadow crane’s-bill, Petty spurge, Common ragwort, Red clover, Red valerian, one of the umbellifer species, Winter heliotrope (this bud is not quite open but I couldn’t reach the one that was), and Yarrow.

My apologies for the sometimes blurry images and my fingers appearing in some shots – it’s been a week of frequent gusty winds and rain, not conducive to macro photography.

335/365 Winter 11

01 Sunday Dec 2019

Posted by sconzani in nature, wildflowers

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#WildflowerHour, #winter10, British wildflowers, winter wildflower challenge, winter wildflowers

I found this week’s blooming wildflowers (for #wildflower and the hunt for the #winter10, plus one!) on a circular walk from Penarth through Cosmeston and back along the coastal path, so there was quite a variation in habitats, from urban to meadow to coastal. Here’s what I found: Bramble species, Bristly ox-tongue, Daisy, Hedge woundwort (a lovely surprise to still find one of these in flower), Herb Robert, Ivy-leaved toadflax, Meadow buttercup, Oxeye daisy, a speedwell species, an umbellifer species, and Yellow-wort.

328/365 Winter 10, 2019

24 Sunday Nov 2019

Posted by sconzani in autumn, nature, wildflowers

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#WildflowerHour, #winter10, British wildflowers, wildflowers in bloom

Now that most insects have morphed in to their over-wintering pupae or are hibernating somewhere warm and dark, my eye naturally turns to whatever else I can find in the natural world around me and one of those things is the wildflower. You might think they, also, have faded away but, depending on the weather, there are usually flowers to be found all year round. If you don’t believe me, try following #wildflowerhour on social media, every Sunday night from 8 to 9pm, to see what folks have managed to find for the weekly #winter10 challenge. Here are my finds from this week’s local walks …

Winter 21!

23 Sunday Dec 2018

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, plants, wildflowers

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#WildflowerHour, #winter10, blooming wildflowers, British flora, wildflowers, winter flowers, winter-blooming wildflowers

Well, I have to say I’m really rather pleased, and surprised, with this week’s blooming wildflower finds. I certainly didn’t expect to find Dove’s-foot crane’s-bill (Geranium molle) still flowering at Christmastime, and the Mallow and Red dead nettle were also nice surprises. So, this week I don’t just have Winter 10 for Wildflowerhour, I have Winter 21.

Dandelion species

Daisy

Germander speedwell

Ivy-leaved crowfoot

Common ragwort

Dove’s-foot crane’s-bill

Common knpaweed

Buttercup species

Shepherd’s purse

Bramble species

Red dead nettle

Gorse species

Sow thistle

Mallow species

Red clover

Winter heliotrope

Red valerian

Large bindweed

Thistle species

Spurge species

Yarrow

Winter 10, week 4

16 Sunday Dec 2018

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, wildflowers, winter

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#WildflowerHour, #winter10, British wildflowers, cats, flowering wildflowers, wildflowers, winter flowers, Winter heliotrope

It’s certainly getting a little more difficult now to find any wildflowers in bloom but, tucked away from the prevailing westerlies and battering rain in small sheltered niches, a few wee beauties still persist.

And, of course, the winter-flowering species, like the Winter heliotrope pictured above, are just beginning their flowering period. I managed to find several large swathes of this invasive plant in and around Penarth this week. My other finds are shown below.

The zigzag winter 10

09 Sunday Dec 2018

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, wildflowers, winter

≈ 4 Comments

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#WildflowerHour, #winter10, British wildflowers, Penarth, wildflowers, wildflowers blooming in winter, winter flowers, Zigzag path

I’ve blogged previously about the wildflower and invertebrate delights of the local zigzag path that leads from Penarth down the cliffs to Penarth Marina. It’s a path I walk at least once a week so, during Friday’s wander, I decided to see what wildflowers were still in bloom there for this week’s Wildflowerhour and its Winter 10 challenge. And here they are …

Winter 10 again

02 Sunday Dec 2018

Posted by sconzani in autumn, flowers, nature, wildflowers, winter

≈ 2 Comments

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#WildflowerHour, #winter10, British wildflowers, wildflowers, winter wildflower challenge

181202 Dove's-foot crane's-bill

Here are this week’s still-flowering wildflowers for Wildflowerhour’s #Winter10 challenge, found during my perambulations around my local patch. These are (I think): Dove’s-foot crane’s-bill (above), Bush vetch, Common chickweed, Daisy, Herb Robert, Ivy-leaved toadflax, Petty spurge, Red campion, a sowthistle (possibly Smooth sowthistle) (must pay more attention to the leaves next time), and Yellow corydalis.