July 24th – Noticed in Holland Park, the reships are growing orange and becoming more rotund; yet thankfully, the blooms show no sign of slowing up.
With a coating of fresh raindrops, they look superb. Beauty is there, even in the rain of a grey Friday afternoon…
July 22nd – On an odd little side street, just off the main Walsall-Lichfield road, in the hinterland scrub between The Butts and Rushall, a remarkable display of feral roses.
Cartridge Lane South was orphaned years ago, and is mostly now just access to a dead-end housing development, and at the southernmost end, borders the allotments that mark the northernmost tip of The Butts. In the hedge there, some remarkable roses that seem to have been flowering for ages.
I wonder how many folk pass these every day without realising they’re there?
July 21st – On Clayhanger Common, near the Pier Street Bridge, a powder blue, ball-shaped wildflower I believe to be field scabious. It’s growing very densely in a small patch and is rather beautiful.
Scabious derives the somewhat odd name from scabies, the disease the plant was believed to treat, as well as plague sores and other itchy conditions – scabies itself coming from the Latin ‘Scabere’ – to scratch.
I’ve not seen this here before, and it’s a welcome addition.
25th June – It’s easy to overlook the weeds and commonest wildflowers, but also a crime. I love dandelions, buttercups and daisies – they’re the unsung, everyday background to many beautiful views. After all, what would a gorgeous summer meadow be without them? Yet how often do we really study these most common of flowers?
I love daisies in particular. Delicate, colourful and hard, they are a real success of the British ecosystem, yet few ever give them a second thought.
Here’s to the common, but unseen.
June 22nd – Another impressive showing this year is the honeysuckle, or woodbine on the south side of the Black Cock Bridge in Walsall Wood. A veritable carpet of pink-yellow blooms, it’s alive with bugs and bees and smells gorgeous.
I love the slightly prehistoric, otherworldly appearance of the flowers, too.
June 21st – At Stonywell, between Farewell and Longdon Green, my attention was snagged by a bright red flash as I sped past. Doubling back, I found a rare treat: a field of oilseed rape overcome by bright red poppies.
It’s beautiful, and stunning. I love the countryside of Staffordshire – it’s always surprising.
June 20th – At Chasewater, the dam is still a wonderful carpet of ox-eye daisies. It’s a gorgeous, wonderful spectacle and I recommend you go take a look while you can.
They are extraordinarily beautiful.
June 19th – Scooting late through Walsall Wood, I caught the sunset.
I haven’t caught a good one for ages – I’m just not usually about when they happen at the moment, which is sad.
I was glad to see this one. I must make more of an effort – some of the recent ones have been spectacular.
May 11th – Cowslips are my favourite flowers. When I was a kid, these dainty little primroses were rarely seen in the area, yet thanks to wildflower planting campaigns, they’ve really got a strong foothold back in the local ecosystem.
I love to see them, and this year they’ve lasted for weeks in the mild, dry spring; only now are they starting to go over; and even in that, they’re beautiful.
There may be bolder, bigger flowers – but you can’t match the cowslip for effort.
May 3rd – Another spot that benefited from the sunshine and offered some shelter from the wind was Fishpond Wood, which I’d taken such a poor photo of the previous Friday.
The wood is currently carpeted with delicate, English bluebells and is a magical, captivating place.
I come here every spring; it’s life-affirming and reminds me just why I love this area so much. We may not be on the list of the nation’s tourist must-see places, but we have such beauty in so many unexpected places.
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