Now it’s January I’m looking over my wildflower pictures from last year
It’s cold and gloomy outside, and one way to beat my seasonally affected blues is to look back on sunnier times. So here are eight of my favourite wildflower from 2025.
White Helleborine Cephalanthera damasonium
This was the first time I’d seen White Helleborine although I knew it grows in my local woods. I do love an orchid, so I’m pleased to be able to add another one to my tick list.
Horseshoe Vetch Hippocrepis comosa
I’d been wanting to find Horseshoe Vetch for some time and was glad to finally find some on Beachy Head on the south coast near Eastbourne. I wanted to see for myself how it differed from Bird’s Foot Trefoil, but soon realised the foliage was clearly different and there was no tinge of red in the flowers.
Greater Butterfly-orchid Platanthera chlorantha
I’d seen Greater Butterfly Orchid in France but not the UK. I was surprised to find it dotted about quite frequently across woodland and meadow on Wolstonbury Hill in West Sussex and also close to a road nearby. You can tell it’s not the Lesser variety by its widely spaced splayed fangs rather than narrowly spaced and parallel (I can use the word fangs as I’m not a botanist ;)).
Sanicle Sanicula europaea
This was in the same field as the Butterfly Orchid and although not as eye-catching, took me by surprise as I’d never heard of it before. It was quite a small flower at less than a centimetre across and I’ve left my fingers in the pic for scale.
Siberian Springbeauty Claytonia sibirica
This pretty pink ground cover is naturalised in various places in Britain and looked very pretty under the trees at our campsite when Mike and I travelled to North Yorkshire in our campervan. See pic at top of page.
Brooklime Veronica beccabunga
This pretty blue Veronica flower was surprisingly blousy, the leaves reminding me of Basil, and it’s one I had been looking out for. We found it near Hardraw Force waterfall – perfect as it likes damp places!
Birds-eye Primrose Primula farinosa
This pretty pink Primula was in a quarry turned nature reserve.
Globeflower Trollius europaeus
I was able to see this large wildflower from a distance in a dedicated nature reserve. I felt lucky to find it still flowering. The overall form reminded me of a Delphinium plant, with the surprise of a round yellow flower rather than a blue spike! The pic was taken from outside Globeflower Wood Nature Reserve near Malham Tarn as it has no public access.
I hope you liked my favourite wildflowers of 2025! In the next post I’m planning to list some more of my new spots of the year.