Local floral highlights of May 2021
Flowers of very early May
Call me a cheat but I couldn’t resist including these two lovelies from the 30th April! Both the English bluebells Hyacinthoides non-scripta and Garlic mustard Alliaria petiolata were looking so lush and abundant!
In bloom in early May
It was about this time that I went in search of Early purple orchids on Seaford Head with Polly from Seaford Natural History Society.
In the Last Meadow there were great swathes of pale blue forget-me-not interspersed with the new purple shoots of ground ivy Glechoma hederacea. I haven’t really delved into Myosotis yet, so won’t comment on the species. Only to to say that the flowers looked smaller and paler than the garden variety.
Also in flower nearby was wild strawberry surviving in longish grass.
On the way home from the Last Meadow I spotted these Lamiums growing happily.
Growing nearby was Hedgerow cranesbill, Geranium pyrenaicum. It caught my eye because I grow it in abundance in my garden although I don’t see it often as a wild flower in this area.
Mid May wildflowers
In the middle of the month I went up to Seaford Head to check out the Green winged orchids Orchis morio growing on the golf course. While I was there I spotted some Cowslip Primula veris.
A few days later I headed towards Splash Point for the annual Thrift Armeria maritima display. There were lots of interesting plants along the way!
This was the first time I’d noticed this Salvia that wasn’t in someones garden borders.
Geranium molle pink and white forms seem to coexist happily – I also saw this a couple of years ago in Eastbourne.
This was the first time I’d noticed Danish scurvygrass Cochlearia danica away from the roadside (it likes salt from the gritters). Here it was only about 100m from the sea.
This particular form of Plantain is common around here as it likes the seaside.
On the way back, these Bulbous buttercups seemed to be glowing in the sunshine.
Late May
Nothing local for the end of the month because I was visiting Stockbridge in Hampshire and Rye Harbour nature reserve in East Sussex.