Spotting flowers growing wild in South East UK
Wildflower spotting in early summer 2024 In my previous post I listed a few flowers I’d spotted while completing the Wildflower Society diary earlier this year. Since then I’ve been out and about in Seaford, especially to the Last Meadow which is beautiful at this time of year. I’ve pootled down the road to Tidemills…
Local Leguminosae The Pea family Fabaceae or Leguminosae includes many flowers including Vetches and Vetchlings, Clovers, Bird’s Foot Trefoil and many more. There seemed to be quite a lot of these legumes when I visited the Last Meadow in Seaford in early June. A blooming meadow But there were flowers of all types blowing in…
Coastal wildflowers already out We took the campervan a few miles up the South Coast from Sussex coast towards Kent for a one night trip this spring. This is what happens when you share a house with adult children – you get kicked out from time to time! We were so lucky with the lovely…
Wildflowers of Short Cliff and inland Short Cliff is the next cliff along from Hope Gap travelling East. If you head inland towards South Hill Barn you cross a large area of short grass which is managed by Sussex Wildlife trust using grazing. This area is bounded to the West by an area of scrub…
Summer evening walk with many wildflowers I went for an evening walk after being recommended a visit to Cradle Valley on the outskirts of Seaford. I was particularly looking for Burnt orchids but came across many beautiful flowers including three more orchids: Fragrant orchid, Common Spotted orchids and Pyramidal orchids. Other highlights were finding many…
Campervan touring 2021 In June 2021 we took Ethel the campervan for her longest road trip yet. We drove north from our Sussex home to Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire, then on to Scarborough in North Yorkshire, Robin Hood’s Bay near Whitby, Harrogate, York, Wensleydale, then on to Buxton in Derbyshire. Robin Hood’s Bay coastal wildflowers…
Flowers amongst Jervaulx Abbey ruins Jervaulx Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery in Wensleydale in North Yorkshire. It was a beautiful calm spot to wander on a sunny June day. Wildflowers and stone I loved the combination of ancient monument with nature. It was good to see Vipers bugloss away from the coast Echium vulgare is…
Flora of Rye Harbour in May I spent three whole days at Sussex Wildlife Trust Rye Harbour Nature Reserve in East Sussex this May. On Day 1 I wandered the reserve with my friend Mercy and did a spot of bird watching in the hides (not bird photography though, I prefer targets that don’t move!)….
Rye Harbour Nature Reserve Flowers On the second day of my visit to Rye Harbour Nature Reserve in Sussex, I walked out to Camber Castle and the reedbeds at Castle Water. Around the beach Of course there was plenty of sea kale, as seen in the pic above! Herb robert is one of my favourite…
Summer flowers on the North Kent Coast Reculver is a grassy clifftop on the North Kent Coast just a few miles East of Herne Bay. I went for a lovely walk there in July with my big camera amongst swathes of rippling wild carrot and swooping sand martins. New to me – Tansy flowers and…