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What’s Flowering? September 2025: Late summer plants of the Wyre Forest
I decided to take the afternoon off to recharge the batteries in nature, and I was glad that I did. Wyre is a ‘slow burn’, at the start of the season it feels frustratingly slow to awaken. But by the end of the season, especially one as dry as this year’s, things seem to be…
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Geocaching: Teme Valley Churches
On Sunday, Lauren and I decided to go on a micro-adventure to explore some of the old churches in the Teme Valley. We planned the route around Geocaches located at each site, giving us a goal for the day’s adventure. Abberley Our first stop was St. Mary’s Church in Abberley, where we stopped off and…
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What’s Flowering? Early May 2025 (18, 19)
This week it’s more of a highlights reel, as I was away in Porto and I’m writing this well into week 20. But there’s potential for a hybrid Viola and I managed to catch Mountain Pansy in Shropshire…
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What’s Flowering? 21st-27th April 2025 (17)
It’s really beginning to feel like spring, with hawthorn starting to flower, St Mark’s Fly are abundant over on Hartlebury Common and cow parsley is just getting going. In the woods, wild garlic is in full flower, and the bluebells are beginning to pass their best. We’ve had some mixed weather, but it has mostly…
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What’s Flowering? 14th-20th April 2025 (16)
This week, It was generally a wet and cold, but the botanising was augmented by my birthday trip to North Wales. We visited the Nannau estate for the Precipice walk and then the Torrent Walk – both near Dolgellau. I suppose the most conspicuous thing is still the bluebells, but the wild garlic and hawthorn…
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What’s Flowering? 7th-13th April 2025 (15)
It was warm this week, with highs up to 19 degrees Celsius. Bluebells have started to fill the air with their distinctive fragrance in woodlands and hedgerows alike. We have reached peak Cuckoo-flower, which is springing up along hedge banks and damp grassy places all over the county, along with Jack-by-the-hedge.In arable fields, rapeseed is…
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What’s Flowering? 31st March to 6th April
A selection of (mostly) flowers from the first week of April 2025. The date is given on the first record of that day only. Location is given on the first occurrence, then only if the location or the day changes.
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Botanical Notes: March 2025
The countryside is waking up, the lanes and woods are decorated with lesser celandine, wood anemones, violets, dog’s mercury and primroses. For most of March I have been racing to get out before the sun goes down at around 6:30. But now that the clocks have changed, every evening presents an opportunity to get out…
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Field Mouse-ear (Cerastium arvense) at Wilden Top Meadow
30.03.25. Wilden Top Meadow. “Three large clumps growing on anthills, Grassland fairly rank so possibility of becoming swamped out. Patches c. 50cm x 50cm. Plenty of flowers SO82857243” “Another small patch c. 20cm x 20cm at SO82797242 with Rumex acetosa” I can’t recall ever seeing this plan in Worcestershire. The only record I have of…
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Rough Horsetail (Equisetum hyemale) at Chaddesley Woods
On Saturday (22.03.2025) we held a North Worcestershire Flora Group meeting at Chaddesley Woods NNR. We had set out to record along the main rides, but also to search for two rarities: Marsh violet Viola palustris and Rough Horsetail Equisetum hyemale. We failed to refind the marsh violet after a fruitless 30 minutes searching the…
