After a successful thread started back in March 2020 at the start of the first lockdown, its probably about time to start a new one for 2022. Thank you to all for your contributions, no matter how small or big, each has been valuable and interesting, and hopefully you will continue to contribute to the 2022 thread.
The old thread: Plants, flowers and shrubs; Share your photos here can be viewed on the link below
https://community.rspb.org.uk/chat/f/the-tea-rooms/206836/plants-flowers-and-shrubs-share-your-photos-here#pifragment-4313=1
I'll kickstart this thread with some snowdrops that have come out in flower, crocuses will be out in many places soon, and then daffodils, and many more to follow throughout the year, and it will be nice to see what wild or garden plants, flowers or shrubs you come across on your wanders or around your garden. Without these plants, flowers and shrubs, nature would struggle to survive, they all a part of the valuable cycle of life, insects need them, birds need the insects, and so on through to the mammals,
I mentioned daffodils, these shoots are growing very well among the snowdrops, and it won't be long before the bluebells start showing shoots...
Mike
Flickr: Peak Rambler
Spey Bay, my guess, a common orchid, but I welcome any corrections
More orchids and some gorse among others..
Zo Clark said:Nice photos. Your first one is called Nootka Lupine
Once again Zo, you've hit the nail on the head, it definitely looks like Nootka Lupine.
Cin J
Sorry. I was in a bit of a rush at the time I commented. So didn’t write much or check iv written everything before sending otherwise if I wasn’t in a rush I would of made sure what I written was clearer. I was sure of the family its in but not the exact Species I thought I put the first picture is likely Lupine like the Nootka Lupine for example rather than sounding sure of which species and I only intended to use the picture of Nootka Lupine as an illustration or example of a lupine. but I didn’t put it like that. I didn’t realise until I saw your reply. Sorry about that. It is a lupine but which one I don’t know yet. I just thought that species in the lupine family would be helpful cause its an example of what some of the species in the family looks like. Sorry. Also by the way sorry I havnt contributed much to the thread recently
Zo Clark said:Sorry. I was in a bit of a rush at the time I commented. So didn’t write much or check iv written everything before sending otherwise if I wasn’t in a rush I would of made sure what I written was clearer. I was sure of the family its in but not the exact Species I thought I put the first picture is likely Lupine like the Nootka Lupine for example rather than sounding sure of which species and I only intended to use the picture of Nootka Lupine as an illustration or example of a lupine. but I didn’t put it like that. I didn’t realise until I saw your reply. Sorry about that. It is a lupine but which one I don’t know yet. I just thought that species in the lupine family would be helpful cause its an example of what some of the species in the family looks like. Sorry. Also by the way sorry I havnt contributed much to the thread recently
No apology required.
When I checked out your suggestion and looked at my photos, and others, it was very close if not spot on.
Plants can be very hard to pin down the final ID, with so many species around just in the UK, let alone the world, so any help is always appreciated by me.
Mike B says
Interesting yes, but to me not surprising.
Many of these have been brought over to the UK and while they manage to maintain steady numbers in their homeland, here, the climate and ground is perfect, so they thrive profusely, often taking over.
I have a big problem in the garden with green alkanet, and its roots are worse than dandelions, they are thick, almost tuba thick and very deep rooted. The chances are the green alkanet has been brought in as part of the natural polentation process, likewise the snowbells we also have, which will get thinned out later this year.
My garden isn't a showpiece, its tidy without being manicured, somewhere to relax and let the day go by, and the bees love the green alkanet, so some will stay in a dedicated area.
Sorry I took the rest of May and beginning of June to reply to this message. I been doing lots of improving what Iv already learned even further while also still letting my curiosity run wild and learn from real life exspeariances aswell as research and studying to learn new things I don’t know aswell as more about the things I already know. Life is all about learning. Life is like a teacher. And life has a lot to teach. some of what you find may also surprise you. If we already knew everything life would no longer be interesting. there so much more to life than you can ever imagine. New discoveries are made cause no one knew it existed until it was discovered. Before that it was unknown. We are learning all the time. There are still Wildlife and animals even plants and other things to do with nature that have not yet been discovered. but even if it’s not something as cooll as discovering something no one knew ever existed you can still learn a lot and it can be very interesting. For example Bumblebees makeing buzzing noises. I didn’t used to know why or how they made that noise but the answer wasn’t in a book or online I went outside and watched a Bumblebee to see what makes that sound and I saw that the buzzing happened whenever it started to get its wings going and the faster it’s wings went the louder the buzz. Which I found very interesting.
I been writeing down and doing lists and notes of all the wildlife I seen in all the differant places Iv been to when wildlife watching then sending them off to i record and local recorders and other conservation charity’s that need them. And I have noticed interesting things and interesting changes seasonaly ever since the 3rd May. Iv have also found out what ones Iv mentioned in the previous post are Native and what ones arnt.
Cowslip is native. Cows parsley is Native, herb Robert is Native, Speedwell is Native, we have 2 species of oak that is Native.
The common poppy is Native, Scots pine is Native, most if not all buttercups are Native there might be some that arnt though. Daisy’s are native, Silver Birch is Native, field Maple is Native, Groundel is Native, lesser Celadine is Native, Bramble is Native, Creeping thistle is Native, But Japanese Snowball isnt Native, Wartleaf Cednthus isnt, and Alkanet isn’t either. Carpet Bugle isn’t Native and Greater Celadine people think might of used to be but weather it is or not I don’t know.
Sorry it was so long. I just thought you might find it interesting.
Jurassic Background of edge woods
No worries, we all have busy days, even you, whether doing jobs around the home or getting out to enjoy and experience life, and the ensuing, and interesting, research that follows, though I did have to search back to follow the content flow.
I could be mistaken, but I understand the Victorians were the biggest importers, if that's the right word, bringing new species to the UK, and it still goes on today, not just in big stately homes with massive gardens, but also mere mortals like ourselves.
You mention there's always something to new to discover for mankind, and life would be uninteresting when there's nothing left to new seek out. That might never happen as species evolve to survive, or perhaps, when the time comes because as a species we've taken over the planet, how to make species more adapted to our enforced environment.
As a child growing up in the 60's (yes, I'm an oldie) space travel was a very big thing, and once man first set foot on the moon, a whole new world of exploration opened up. That whole new world has yet to be explored, just on the moon alone, without looking further afield.
Back to my childhood, and I feel it was probably one of the most exciting times of any child's life, there were dreams of cities on the moon, crops planted on the moon and much much more.
I sometimes wonder, especially now with drones and the prospect of air taxis around urban areas (I believe Coventry recently had a working exhibition as it closed its time as City of Culture 2022), how near we are getting to that science fiction of my childhood.
That's why I doubt as a species, we'll ever run out of things to discover, or manipulate.
Now the burning thought in some peoples minds, should be be doing that. I don't know the answer, nor never will, so I take a neutral stance on that.
However, an interesting book first published around 1970, called "Chariots of the Gods?" looks at space travel not today or in the last couple of centuries, but the possibility of space travel before mankind. It also looks at many other things as well, but the main topic is around intergalaxy space travel, before and during mankind's early existence.
Chariots of the Gods book on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chariots_of_the_Gods%3F
It is still in print today, and can easily be purchased new from a variety of outlets.
It outraged the church of the day because the author, Erik von Daniken, puts plausible theories to many biblical and historical (a great many pre-Christian era) stories on how they actually happened rather than the way the story was told to the God fearing people of the day. I felt was a very interesting book and can make you think about the what meaning of life could be.
But it doesn't make excuses, for a lot of what goes on today, just looks at the plausible facts of how and some possible reasons why.