July 17th – I found these unidentified, dainty little white flowers growing on a grass verge on an industrial estate in Tipton. I don’t know what they are, but they seem related to bugle, the purple-blue flower I featured here last week. I’ve not seen either in great number before this year, but something in the season has favoured them and these wonderful little flowers are profuse.
Can anyone identify it, please?
July 14th – Called to Telford mid morning in soft rain, I was struck by how green and tunnel-like the cycleways to Hortonwood have become. The council here cut so far up the hedges, but the upper boroughs overhang and form an almost complete arch. Riding down them in even this grey daylight makes them an emerald delight, but in sunlight, they are magical green pathways, lined with foliage, fruits and flowers.
Beauty in the everyday.
July 10th – On the way home, I passed through Walsall and noticed something that takes me by surprise every summer – the roses in the beds at the Arboretum Junction. They’re beautiful, and my compliments and thanks to whoever planted and maintains them.
June 24th – And by the canal in Leamore, just near Pratts Mill Bridge, a clump of purple vetch was proving irresistible to the bees, who buzzed around it with an air of frantic, but random purpose.
The vetch, like many other flowers is profuse this year. I hope the bees prosper from it. They need our support…
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 16th – A remarkable year for wildflowers, and the lupins in particular have been spectacular. At the wasteland at the bottom of Bentley Mill Way between Darlaston and Pleck they’re blending with gorse and other wildflowers to bring a welcome splash of colour in unexpected places.
The downy seed pods are fascinating too.
May 14th – Marking the seasons in a journal like this is always about firsts; first daft, first bluebells, first conkers etc. – and it’s always nice to spot the first bird’s foot trefoil of the summer. I adore these dainty little flowers that brighten up meadows, fields, verges and margins pretty much all summer. This patch at Walsall Wood I spotted in rain, and they’d been left straggly by the mower, but still a bright flash of joy on a dull day.
April 21st – A tradition, now, like the waste ground at South Winston Station, is the flowerbed at Telford. Pretty much all year round this planter is a joy. At the moment, gorgeous tulips, lobelia and primroses.
Just the thing to perk you up waiting for yet another delayed train…
April 20th – And in Telford, all along the cycleways from Stafford Park to Hortonwood, blossom – of all varieties. A horrid job today that I really didn’t fancy, but brightened on the way by the most beautiful spring flowers, azure sky and warm sun.
Not bad for a Monday, really.
April 15th – Shelfied, just on the marooned triangle of land where there was once a railway bridge, a beautiful display of daffodils, better than ever I remember them.
Every year these gorgeous flowers drag me into spring. They are a joy to the heart. My best wishes and thanks to those at Walsall Council who planted and look after them.
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