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Tuesday, 23 May 2023

Spring wildflowers


Staveley Nature Reserve (see yesterday) is home to some rare plants including orchids, but you'd need to be a good botanist to find and recognise them... and I'm not. I did, however, enjoy seeing many of our common spring flowers. There were fields full of cowslips:
   

It's my favourite season, when the hedgerows are full of hawthorn blossom and the cow parsley starts to flower, its delicate lacy heads bobbing in the breeze. 



I believe the vibrant blue flower above is green alkanet, a plant I've only recently learned to recognise. The lovely pink one below is red campion, which I've been able to name since I was a child. I had a brief flirtation with identifying, picking and drying wild flowers in a small press, when I was about eight. Clearly the pink appealed to a little girl! 


A little bunny rabbit was far enough away to be unfazed by my presence. 



I'm not entirely sure on the ID of the one above. It might be bugle. The one below with mauve bell-shaped flowers is, I know, comfrey, much loved by organic gardeners as it can be used as a fertiliser. 


This one is garlic mustard or 'Jack-by-the hedge'. Its leaves, faintly garlic scented, can be used in salads. Do you see the tiny snail on the plant? I think it's also a plant that attracts orange-tipped butterflies and there were a few of them flying around, as well as the bright yellow brimstones. 
    
 

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