Spotting flowers growing wild in South East UK
Getting out and about on my days off.
Wildflowers in the chateau walls It’s now coming to the end of January and twilight outside despite being only 4pm! Now is the perfect time for me to look back over highlights of recent trips. The mini break that really sticks in my mind from last year was taking the campervan to Normandy. I’ve already…
We took the van to Gwynedd for a late summer treat What a beautiful spot – mountains, rivers, beaches, sunsets and a few wildflowers to add to my list! We took Ethel the campervan for a few nights to a great little campsite opposite Portmeirion across the river estuary in the Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park….
We went on an Orchid hunt in May! Mike and I had a rare day free on a weekend so I persuaded him to drive us on an Orchid spotting trip. I had a keen eye on the date and the weather and was well aware it was peak season! There were two spots in…
In June we camped by the river Seine We took Ethel the campervan on her first overseas trip with us to France (she went surfing to Spain before we knew her!). We wanted to start off gently, so took her on the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe, then a short 90 minute drive to a…
Spring camping in the van Last spring we visited Faversham which is on the north Kent coast in the south east of England. We stayed at Painters Farm in the cherry orchard. Cherry blossom field I’d been asking Mike if we could do a few more camp sites with the van where we parked on…
Autumn leaves in Wiltshire An October break in the van Mike and I take Ethel the campervan out for the weekend about once a month from March to October and it’s a great way to get away from work when you’re self-employed! The wildflowers are often looking a bit tired at this time of year…
Wildflowers spotted in Zakynthos Greece on holiday I was on a family holiday, so not botanising religiously, but I did come across a few things of interest. Sea Squill – Drimia maritima As an amateur gardener, when I saw this substantial plant I assumed it was Foxtail Lily. But I looked it up when I…
Two Water-Lilies and a Small Teasel We stayed in Arundel for the weekend for our wedding anniversary and had a lovely time looking round the Castle and Wetland Centre. After a very dry month (see my previous post) it was actually drizzly the day we went to the wetland centre! Small Teasel – Dipsacus pilosus…
I was up on Seaford Head in August again for the Moon Carrot survey. There were about ten of us and the numbers of Seseli libanotis were good. I haven’t included photos of them here because I did that last year! In 2022 we had a very dry late summer and the Moon carrots were…
In August we took Ethel the campervan for a long weekend to Hayfield in High Peak, Derbyshire which is directly west of Sheffield and not far from Kinder Scout. The pic above was taken from out of the van window only ten minutes from Sheffield – glorious! It was beautifully lush compared with the arid…