July 1st – Out and about for a ride to Elford and Croxall, I spotted that the Himalayan balsam was now in flower in many places.
An absolutely beautiful flower, but it smells metallic and unpleasant, and is an invasive species brought here by the Victorians. It now densely populates riverbanks, brooks and any damp ground, growing to a meter or two high and shading out anything beneath it.
A real, but beautiful problem.
June 29th – Returning in steady, not unpleasant drizzle through Wednesbury, I spotted what once was a local wildflower rarity, on the grass verges round the Parkway Island subway system: Self-Heal.
This pretty little purple flower – it really is tiny, and easily mistaken for clover – is edible and a tradition salve for irritated skin. Spotted with fine rain, it was a beautiful and lovely find on a dull journey.
June 7th – A lovely, chance find whilst riding through Victoria Park, Darlaston. Part of this urban oasis, right in the centre of Darlaston, has been left to wild and apparently spread with wildflower seeds. Just as I rode past it, I spotted a small purple flower that demanded closer study. I wasn’t disappointed.
A lovely orchid growing right there. What a glorious, pretty and wonderful thing!
So good to see after so many years of these important flowers being so rare…
March 24th – I had to visit that cowslip in daylight, so I made sure I passed by in the sunshine.
I hope I did it justice this time.
July 5th – One of my wildflower joys at the moment is the humble thistle. Not just for the vivd purple brush that forms the flower, but for the delightfully spiky and prehistoric looking buds this curious plant forms.
They may not be conventionally beautiful, but next time you pass a thistle, look closely. They’re amazing things.
June 23rd – On the canal at Darlaston, a flower I’m assuming is some kind of wild rose, although the flower itself looks a bit like a large blackberry bloom.
The flowers are wonderfully delicate and the centres a gorgeous shade of yellow.
Any ideas, anyone?
June 6th – On the canal near Clayhanger, it’s good to see the lupins out. A sign of summer, they spread welcome colour to towpaths, embankments and wastelands across the country.
The flowers are so beautifully constructed, and the bees seem to love them too.
May 6th -Not far away, but still on the Goscote Valley cycleway, the dead nettles are doing well. These fellows have no sting, and can be touched freely. They hold a sweet, tasty secret.
The blooms can be plucked from the plant, and the small neck of the bloom sucked for the nectar it contains, which is sweet and tasty.
April 28th – A beautiful morning but yet again, very cold. It’s like spring has been underway in every form except the temperature, which is stuck resolutely in early March.
The chill hasn’t stopped the spring arrivals, however; daisies, buttercups, cowslips and other grassland flowers are booming, and the dandelions in particular are superb at the moment.
These lovely yellow flowers, so often ignored, are a gorgeous colour and actually fascinating if you stop to study them.
So great to have them back.
April 25th – Despite the very poor weather, on Clayhanger Common, my favourite flowers are having a good year. I absolutely adore cowslips – gorgeous, delicate small yellow primroses, and there are lots growing there now, at lease two or three patches from seed I scattered here a few years ago.
Guerrilla planting is wonderful. Do some today.
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