Milkwort grows on chalk grassland near me

I love these tiny blue wildflowers but until recently they’ve been at my limit of photography. Macro images are a big  interest of mine and these days you don’t even need a camera! You can get great pics via your mobile using little magnifying attachments or just the zoom function. Often when I’m out for a walk I just snap a wildflower quickly to remind me to write it down or check the ID.

Polygala is a tiny flower that grows in chalk grassland

I think Milkwort Polygala species resemble tiny blue daffodils or exotic orchids. The whole plant hardly ever manages to poke its head above the surrounding sward. The little flowers are perhaps only 5mm across at most. It’s most commonly blue but I’ve also seen it in shades of pink and purple and I hear white is also a possibility. I haven’t written a wildflowers profile yet for Polygala species because they seem quite hard to differentiate.

Blue Milkwort grows near me on the South Downs in Sussex but I also found some purple ones on chalk grassland just outside Buxton in Derbyshire.

Milkwort pattern

This was one of the first wildflower images that I attempted to generate a repeat pattern from. I used the image above and haven’t changed it all. I just applied a mirror repeat pattern to it using photo editing software. The stems form a green kaleidoscope pattern and the flowers make a purple froth and I love it!

I thought this design would make a fab bag so here is the finished item!

I’m working on loads of botanical images and products including Meadow Cranesbill mugs, wildflower meadow posters, and oak tree enamel mugs.