Ne'er cast a clout 'till the may is out.

And the may blossom is certainly out at Langford Lowfields. Great big cascades of blossom dripping from the hawthorn bushes all around the reserve signify that the weather is warming up. Now it’s time for clout casting, planting out your summer bedding plants and starting off your runner beans. The chance of a frost is receding fast, so summer is nearly here.

The may, or hawthorn blossom, is the second eruption of blossom on the reserve. The first bushes to leap into flower were the blackthorn bushes which flowered in March or April. They have a neat trick to get their flowers pollinated early. The blossom leaps out of the bare winter wood and they leave their leaves until later. The hawthorn however likes to sprout its leaves first and then follow it with blossom, so it flowers in May.

May or hawthorn blossom, photo Roger Golds

Blackthorn is not the only plant to try this early flowering trick. One of the first daisy-like flowers to appear in spring is the coltsfoot. It sends up its flowers even before the leaves appear, so look out for it very early in the year.

Coltsfoot

With the warmer weather comes the insects, and the dragonflies are emerging. This attracts the hobbies and we are getting large numbers taking the dragonflies in the air.

We have also seen clouds of hawthorn flies. These are the black flies with long dangly legs which often appear around St Mark’s day (25 April). They are sometimes called St Mark’s flies for this reason. Our first tiger beetle of the year has also been spotted.

Cuckoos are pairing up and spoonbills have been seen on the reserve.

So get out your sun hats and suntan lotion and come and join us at Langford Lowfields. Things are hotting up!