Spring greens

Out in to the woods this morning… Wood Anemone, Greater Stitchwort, Wild Garlic and Wood Rush… feels lovely, and a break from the relentless bad news! nature can really heal…

Wild flower verges at East Prawle

Wild flowers found at Coastguard Cottages in East Prawle

If you are interested in persuading councils to NOT mow your local roadsides, please do take a look at the Plantlife website and sign their petition!

Late last year, we decided not to mow the verges alongside our small private road where we live. In only our first year of no-mow its been a revelation. The number of wild flowers has increased, and there are plants there that I had never seen before. Usually, the verges of the road are strimmed every couple of weeks, and this process obviously means that many of the natural plants are unable to produce seed. The next stage will be to mow after the seeds have set, in late summer. The result of all this is that verges are brimming with flowers and insects, and (in my opinion) it looks fantastic! Here is a list of some of the species I recorded just this summer…

Bristly Ox Tongue

Field Poppy

Ribwort Plantain

Greater plantain

Curled Dock

Broad leaved dock

Heath Bedstraw

Common Mallow

Wild Carrot

Perennial Sowthistle

Fennel

Greater Knapweed

Yarrow

Rough Chervil

Cats Ear

Red and White Campion

Scarlet Periwinkle

Creeping Cinquefoil

Field Bindweed

Herb Robert

Broomrape

Hairy Tare

Hedge Woundwort

Hedge Mustard

Nipplewort

Red and White Clover

Dandelion

Field Daisy

Birds Foot Trefoil

Small Flowered Cranesbill

Common Vetch

Hop Trefoil

Meadow vetchling 

Trailing tormentil 

Fleabane

Common mint

Common ragwort

Greater willowherb 

Hawkbeard 

Pineapple weed

Great mullein

Field scabious

Yellow rattle 

Hogweed

Spear thistle

Hemp agrimony

Agrimony

Common bent (grass)

Yorkshire fog (grass)

Ox-eye daisy

False oat grass (grass)

Wild Umbrellas (more wild flower photography!)

three common wild umbellifers in the country lanes of south devon..

Umbellifers are a diverse wildflower family (celery and carrots included), and at the moment there are many in flower in the countryside. Three that are commonly come across and worth learning the difference of are Hemlock Water Dropwort, Hogweed and Cow Parsley... they are all white, but the first has distinctly separated heads and grows near water, the second is much stouter and taller with notched petals, and the last has delicately cut leaves (the one you see down the country lanes). Importantly the first is VERY poisonous. Not included here are Fennel, Carrot, Angelica, Chervil and Dill... all are excellent for the bees!