Spotting flowers growing wild in the South East
Wildflower spotting with Plantlife On my regular health walks around Seaford I often take the Alfriston Rd heading out of town and pass a dog-walking field. It turns out this is called the Last Meadow and is a well known haven for orchids and other wildflowers. When I saw Plantlife had a Great British Wildflower Hunt I…
May is the best month for thrift …Around Seaford anyway – looking back over my old photos, all the best ones were taken in May! The chalk cliffs of this sunny Sussex seaside town provide an ideal home for the little pink flowers. Splash Point is the most easterly area of beach in Seaford where…
Short hike up a hill with flowers and views After lock-down was relaxed a little we took the kids for a short hike up the chalky Downs behind Alfriston in Sussex. In case you wonder how we managed to persuade a twenty year old and an eighteen year old to get exercise – we lured…
Also known as weeds I guess a lot of people have been wildflower spotting closer to home this spring. The trouble with garden wild flowers is they might also be considered weeds. A weed can be a cultivated plant or a native plant in the wrong place and I have both! What is a native…
Mike makes elderflower champagne most years What I love about elderflower champagne is the fresh floral taste, and feeling of a midsummer treat! Making elderflower champagne Picking elderflowers The elder tree, Sambucus nigra, is very common in the UK and flowers late May into early June here in the South East. Our elderflower champagne recipe…
It’s been a while… …as the power ballad goes…but I’ve still been out and about in the Sussex countryside photographing wildflowers! May is Cow Parsley time We often find round here that greenish-yellow alexanders and deep blue alkanet are in flower at the beginning of the month, with cow parsley filling in towards the end….
Pink pincushions of wildflowers Living near the seaside, I see a lot of sea pinks aka thrift. The cushions of foliage look very soft and comfy, and the compound flowers always seem so profuse. The wildflowers grow happily in the chalk cliffs at Seaford, unaffected by the strong winds and sea salt. Read more about…