Second May

I thought it would be interesting to compare this year’s meadow with last year’s. Here is how it looked in early April last year, on the left, and in late March this year on the right. Similar comparisons from mid to late May, with last year on the left: It is impossible to say yet…

Moorhaven cemetery

The grass has been left long in the cemetery and is full of flowers and insects. Here are some of the plants growing there. Several speedwells: Some to look forward to: Insects: Plantains and buttercups in the arboretum This goatsbeard is growing in the wild patch in our garden but is worth looking out for…

Corringdon Ball

A walk from Moorhaven to Corringdon Ball gate to Owley and back on 11th May. The path south from Ball Gate has fantastic displays of spring flowers and fabulous views.

Ugborough Beacon to Aish

A lovely varied walk around Ugborough Beacon to Three Barrows and back to Moorhaven via Corringdon Ball and Aish.  The grass on the more sheltered eastern face of Ugborough Beacon was full of heath milkwort in colours ranging from ultramarine through white to pink. I checked the bracken above Peek Moor gate to see if…

Lizard

I spent an hour on the moor while it was sunny this morning and almost stumbled on this beautiful lizard. Other signs of spring are plenty of celandines, new leaves of pignut and bluebells coming up in Leigh Lane.

Things that look a bit like cow parsley

The hedgerows are full of cow parsley at the moment. Rough chervil and upright hedge parsley are similar but they flower in succession, after cow parsley. Cow parsley has soft, fern-like leaves, small bracteoles but no bracts. Leigh Lane, just off Wrangaton road between Moorhaven and Green Lane, is a good place to spot umbellifers. Pignut…

April 10th

Newly out this week between Moorhaven and Green Lane are ground ivy, greater stitchwort, wood forget-me-nots, and a form of yellow archangel with variegated leaves that is a garden escape and flowers earlier than the native green-leaved form. Pignut grows profusely on Leigh Lane. I’m including a picture of the leaves now because they will have…