April sunshine

The burst of sunshine over the weekend has brought out some new flowers along Bittaford Road, including the first delicate lady’s smock.

There was a clump of greater chickweed. It was hard to do it justice with my phone camera but you can see the 10 stamens – each purple blob is a pair – that distinguish it from common chickweed. Although my book says that it often overlaps in size with common chickweed, these specimens were notably larger, more upright and more robust looking than the common chickweed that straggles everywhere it gets a chance in our garden (much to the delight of our guinea pigs).

greater chickweed

greater chickweed flower

Other whites were white dead-nettle, ribwort plantain with its frilly tutu of stamens, cleavers (goose grass), and greater stitchwort.

white dead-nettle

ribwort plantain

cleavers

greater stitchwort

There were early examples of three umbellifers flowering: cow parsley, greater burnet saxifrage, and hogweed.

cow parsley

There were also a few leaves of rough chervil showing (right), which will flower once the cow parsley (left) has finished.

cow parsley leaves

rough chervil leaves

Bright purple common dog violets at Ivybridge station, distinguishable from early dog violets by a baggy white (rather than purple) spur behind the flower.

common dog violets

common dog violet

Summery pinks and reds: hedgerow cranesbill, broad dock, and common vetch.

hedgerow cranesbill

broad leaved dock

common vetch

Trees are coming into flower, with early flowering blackthorn now joined by hawthorn and, soon, holly.

hawthorn

holly buds

witch’s butter

Every spring there is a fabulous display of primroses at the top of Bittaford hill.

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