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!
![english bluebells hyacinthoides non-scripta alfriston rd seaford apr 2021](https://photographingwildflowers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/english-bluebells-hyacinth-non-scripta-alfriston-rd-seaford-apr-2021-600x450.jpg)
![garlic mustard Alliaria petiolata alfriston rd seaford apr 2021](https://photographingwildflowers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/garlic-mustard-Alliaria-petiolata-alfriston-rd-seaford-apr-2021-600x450.jpg)
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.
![forget me nots ground ivy last meadow seaford may 2021](https://photographingwildflowers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/forget-me-nots-ground-ivy-last-meadow-seaford-may-2021-600x450.jpg)
Also in flower nearby was wild strawberry surviving in longish grass.
![wild strawberry fragaria vesca last meadow seaford may 2021](https://photographingwildflowers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/wild-strawberry-fragraria-vesca-last-meadow-seaford-may-2021-600x450.jpg)
On the way home from the Last Meadow I spotted these Lamiums growing happily.
![white deadnettle lamium album hillside avenue seaford may 2021](https://photographingwildflowers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/white-deadnettle-lamium-album-hillside-avenue-seaford-may-2021-450x600.jpg)
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.
![hedgerow cranesbill geranium pyrenaicum hillside ave seaford may 2021](https://photographingwildflowers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/hedgerow-cranesbill-geranium-pyrenaicum-hillside-ave-seaford-may-2021-600x450.jpg)
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.
![Cowslip primula veris seaford head may 2021](https://photographingwildflowers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Cowslip-primula-veris-seaford-head-may-2021-600x450.jpg)
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.
![Wild clary salvia verbenaca flowers martello field seaford may 2021](https://photographingwildflowers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Wild-clary-salvia-verbenaca-flowers-martello-field-seaford-may-2021-600x450.jpg)
Geranium molle pink and white forms seem to coexist happily – I also saw this a couple of years ago in Eastbourne.
![doves foot cranesbill Geranium molle white and pink martello field seaford may 2021](https://photographingwildflowers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/doves-foot-cranesbill-Geranium-molle-white-and-pink-martello-field-seaford-may-2021-600x450.jpg)
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.
![Danish Scurvygrass Cochlearia danica martello field seaford may 2021](https://photographingwildflowers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Danish-Scurvygrass-Cochlearia-danica-martello-field-seaford-may-2021-600x450.jpg)
This particular form of Plantain is common around here as it likes the seaside.
![bucks horn plantain plantago coronopus splash point seaford may 2021](https://photographingwildflowers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/bucks-horn-plantain-plantago-coronopus-splash-point-seaford-may-2021-600x450.jpg)
![sea pink armeria maritima splash point seaford may 2021](https://photographingwildflowers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/sea-pink-armeria-maritima-splash-point-seaford-may-2021-scaled-e1637171649459-600x324.jpg)
On the way back, these Bulbous buttercups seemed to be glowing in the sunshine.
![bulbous buttercup ranunculus bulbosus chyngton rd seaford may 2021](https://photographingwildflowers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/bulbous-buttercup-ranunculus-bulbosus-chyngton-rd-seaford-may-2021-600x450.jpg)
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.