Now that January is behind us and hopefully the icy blast that it brought us, I had a wander around Radipole's footpaths to look for signs of spring on this first day of February.
The Winter Heliotrope is now in full flower having recovered from the icy blast last month. This plant is a member of the Aster (formerly the Daisy) family. The Latin name is Petasites fragrans, Petasites is from the Greek petasos referring to the felt hats work by shephards. The kidney shaped leaves are felt like and large so could be used as a head covering. Fragrans refers to the vanilla scent from its pink/white flowers. The plant flowers in winter from November through to the end of February. Heliotrope means sunloving, the flowers turning throughout the day to follow the sun. As one of the few flowers out in winter, it is a welcome nectar source as well as a splash of winter colour to our paths at Radipole and Lodmoor at a time when flowers are in short supply
Other plants I found in flower near the Winter Heliotrope were Cow Parsley and Hogweed. Cow Parsley normally comes into flower in late April and is abunduant in our reserve hedgerows. This very shortl and spindly specimen has been struggling to do its best effort to flower since mid January which is unusually early. Not far away there were several Hogweeds making an effort to flower. This plant normally flowers from June but is known to flower during the winter months. These plants though flowering well are very short giving us the opprotunity to appreciate the pinky tinged flowers close-up. In summer Hogweed reaches heights of 6 to 8 ft (1.8-2m) and the flowers are out of reach for vertically challenged people like me!
Elsewhere on the paths on Radipole and Lodmoor are patches of fragrant lilac Sweet Violets. Have you ever sniiffed a violet to appreciate its perfume and then find that you can't smell it again? That's because one of the chemicals in its scent is Ionine which has the power deaden smell receptors once it has been sniffed. So now you know! Sweet Violets flower from early Februaryr through to April but the flowers do not produce seed. Sweets Violets flower again in autumn. If you look hard enough you will find small inconspicuous flowers without petals or scent hidden away beneath the leaves which set seed in abudance.
On the paths there are several clumps of daffodils leaves which have been up for some weeks and are now coming into bud. It won't be long before we the daffodils are in flower.
On Radipole we have two Sweet Bay Trees coming into bud. In Britain Sweet Bay grow to about 25ft but in the warmer Mediterranean climates where the Sweet Bay originates they can reach heights of up to 60 ft. Over on Lodmoor's Beachdown Way are two early Blackthorn flowers surviving the frosts. It won't belong before the shrubs are in fulll blossom.
Hawthorn trees are also on the move with leaf buds bursting in late January and starting to 'green-up' our hedgerows. In damper areas the Lesser Celandine leaves are in abundance, a sure sign of spring. The yellow daisy flowers will follow soon. Lesser Celandines in flower have been seen near the reserve.
After a dark wet winter I am looking forward to the longer, warmer spring days when our reserves become alive again with our colourful flowers.
Enjoyable informative reading - no, definitely didn't know about the violet sniffing - amazing - bet not a lot of people know that :-)