Friday is normally litter pick day so Chris and I went over to Lodmoor and as well as litter picking we also decided to spot how many plants we could find in flower on this sunny mild January day. All these photos were taken today.
The surprise of the day was Blackthorn flowering. This shrub normally flowers from late March to May before the leaves. I recorded this event on the phenology website.
Sweet Violets normally flowers from February to March. These are coming into flower now on both Radipole and Lodmoor. It is our only fragrant violet.
On both sites the Alder trees are starting to come into flower which is from now until to April. The male catkins are yellow and the female catkins are purple. Flowers appear before leaves appear. Often last year's cones are also present.
Another plant merrily flowering away was the Scentless Mayweed. Normally flowering time is from April to November so obviously enjoying the mild winter. We found several plants still in flower on the path at Lodmoor.
Another plant enjoying the mild winter is the Bristly Oxtongue which normally flowers from from June to November. There are many flowers on the plants at Lodmoor near the Viewing shelter.
We found one lonely Hedge Bindweed overwintering in the hedgerow. This plant normally flowers from June to September.
We were delighted to find a Creeping Thistle plant in full flower which is normally from June to October. It is our only fragrant thistle with purple flowers.
Other plants we found flowering today were hedge mustard, red dead nettle, dovesfoot cranesbill, daisy, dandelion, common field speedwell, herb robert, black medick and red clover.
It's really good to see so much colour about this time of year, thanks for the info.
Seize the day!