I love Walter Crane’s humorous botanical illustrations And a whole batch of his flowers have now been released into the public domain via Flickr. A selection of dizzy daffodils Daffodils don’t really come under the literal Photographing Wildflowers remit, as the only ones to be seen around here are either cultivated, or garden escapees. But…
Year: 2014
Primula vulgaris Primrose Battle
A wild flower for Mothers Day Primroses grow en masse along the country lanes of Sussex, especially on grassy roadside banks near Battle. Thirty years ago, back when it was OK to pick wildflowers, my husband used to pick a posy for his Mum to celebrate Mothers Day. I am writing this a week before…
Composting for the birds
I’m quite proud of our compost bins! We have two bins made out of old pallets from work, each about a cubic metre in size. As well as garden waste and vegetable peelings, I also compost any dried flower sweepings from my shop, so it can sometimes be rather pretty with rose petals and dried…
Ranunculus ficaria | Lesser celandine
A buttery yellow wildflower We have a community pond at the end of our road, and at this time of year its edges are a sea of yellow with celandine flowers. They seem to love the damp conditions, and the shade provided by a small stand of trees edging the footpath. The buttery yellow blooms,…
Armeria maritima | Thrift
Pink pincushions of wildflowers Living near the seaside, I see a lot of sea pinks aka thrift. The cushions of foliage look very soft and comfy, and the compound flowers always seem so profuse. The wildflowers grow happily in the chalk cliffs at Seaford, unaffected by the strong winds and sea salt. Read more about…
Auriculas in the blood
Contrary to the impression possibly given by the title, I’m not particularly into auriculas! I did enjoy viewing this auricula theatre at Courson flower show near Paris last year with my friend Mercy. But personally, I prefer the more natural primulas, such as wild primroses, cowslips or oxslips. But it turns out I have a…
Early Spring gardening
My garden in March I love to get out into the garden whenever the sun is shining, but I must admit I am rather a fair weather friend to my plants. It’s rare to see me gardening before the clocks change – I’m just not hardy enough! Photographing my garden flowers Even when the weather…
Galanthus nivalis | snowdrop
This wild flower heralds the coming of Spring The tricky thing about snowdrops for someone like me who is not a botanist, is distinguishing between native wildflowers and garden escapees. These extremely delicate examples of Galanthus were found a long way from any gardens, growing in rough grass about 5m from a road. The stems…
Viola odorata | Sweet violet
Viola flowers are a sweet Spring treat This lovely little flower face has a beautifully sweet fragrance and is blessedly common here in Sussex. They are often seen on grassy banks, but this one was photographed in flat rough grass by the side of the road. I love to crystallize and eat cultivated violets, which…
A walk near Belle Tout lighthouse
Two flowers spotted on a February walk along the Seven Sisters Belle Tout lighthouse is on the South coast of Sussex, just West of Eastbourne. As it was one of the first sunny days of the year, Mike and I decided to take the kids for a walk. We parked at Birling Gap and walked…