Wildflower List, Home Patch, 2021-2024

 

Painted Lady on Red Valerian, Home patch, 2022

 My fledgling list of wildflowers seen in the garden ...

I have decided to build on a previous list of wildflowers found in our suburban Suffolk garden. Having begun by date of sighting, it seems sense to continue to record in this way. 

If you would like to see my garden list of creatures, you will find it here. And these are the flowers:

 

1. Daisy (20  February 2021)

2. Violet (18 March 2021)

3. Chickweed (19 March 2021)

4. Dandelion (19 March 2021)

5. Herb Robert (9 April 2021)

6. Red valerian (29 March 2021)

7. Goosegrass (with white flowers) (21 May 2021)

8. Buttercup (21 May 2021)

9. Red dead nettle (21 May 2021)

10. Common storksbill (24 May 2021)

11. Red clover (25 May 2021)

12. Poppy (9 June 2023)

13. Small Flowered Cranesbill (9 June 2023)

14. Lesser trefoil (9 June 2023)

15. Wood forget-me-not (9 June 2023)

16. Wood avens (9 June 2023)

17. Purple oxalis (9 May 2023)

18. Aquilegia (?vulgaris) (9 May 2023)

19. Common ragwort (25 May 2024)

20. Pink valerian (25 May 2024)

21. Ribwort plantain (25 May 2024)

22. Bramble/Blackberry flower (25 May 2024)

23. Common cat's ear (25 May 2024)

24. Harebell (25 May 2024)

25. Sow thistle (25 May 2024)

26. Ivy (25 May 2024)

Quick Wildflower Audit ... and Frog

 

1. Poppy, possibly 'sown' by the birds (is it perhaps a cultivated specimen?)

We had a plumber working away on a leaking valve this morning so I thought it might be a good moment to do a quick wildflower audit in our wild garden to gain a snapshot of what is showing up as we approach the longest day of the year. It has been a particularly chilly spring so far in my part of Suffolk. To be fair, the temperatures have risen in the last couple of days, but the north-east wind continues to make its presence felt. 

I may put in some effort to check names etc. in due course, but the purpose of this audit was really just to take a quick photo as a record of what I saw (with added input from David). If I can name the species, I will. I always struggle to identify yellow 'dandelion-like' flowers, including sow thistle, hawkweed and cat's ear ... do let me know if you recognise an unnamed plant. It may be that two of these yellow plant pics are actually of the same species ...

 

2.

3. Ribwort Plantain

4. Daisy

5.

6. Dandelion (with Thick-legged Flower Beetle)

7. Herb Robert

8. Small-flowered Cranesbill

9. Knapweed (first flower opened today)

10. Oxeye daisy

11.

12. Goosegrass

13. ?Chickweed

14. Lesser Trefoil

15. Buttercup

16. Pink Valerian

17. (?Wood) Forget-me-not

18. Wood Avens

19. Nettle

20. Violet (flowers have died)

21.

22.

23. Willowherb

24. Purple Oxalis (garden escape?)

 

The photos that follow show how 'wild' a medium-sized suburban garden (ours) can look when it is largely left to nature.

Hummingbird Hawk-moths frequented this patch last year

Long grass micro-meadow

The hedgehog continues to visit most nights, and the frog reappeared in the mini-pond two days ago. Butterfly numbers have largely been down on last year, but we have had record garden sightings of Holly Blue.

 

* 

Update 2024

25. Red Valerian

26. Bramble

27. Ivy

The Garden Today

 

My fledgling list of wildflowers seen in the garden in 2021 has doubled today.

1. Daisy (20  February)

2. Violet (18 March)

3. Chickweed (19 March)

4. Dandelion (19 March)

The Chickweed was tiny and was almost hidden in between paving slabs, but the Dandelion was positively shining in the sunlight, our first decent sunlight for days.

There were quite a few 7-spot Ladybirds and even more Pine ones, including a mating pair. You can see the distinctive rim in the photo below. These ladybirds are very small.

 

The photo below shows the difference in size between the two varieties.

 

 I noticed one snail in between some old planks of decking.  

Unfortunately I could not really see the lip of its shell to see if it was brown. I gather we are likely to return to dark cloud tomorrow so I expect I will have to wait a bit longer for my first butterfly. My earliest Bee-fly sighting here in Suffolk was on 24th March, so perhaps I will see one of these this year before a Peacock, Red Admiral or Brimstone graces our garden.

More Signs of Spring in the Garden

 

We had a cold and blustery weekend, but I noticed these insects moving around in a sheltered corner when the sun peeped out for a brief spell. We spotted a few of these bugs last year in March. I posted photos on iSpot at the time, and the consensus ID was Rhyparochromus vulgaris, a ground bug that is a fairly new arrival to the UK.

 

We have enjoyed checking the card in the trailcam. The feline below is our latest 'capture'; we have no idea who s/he is or where s/he lives.

The female Blackbird with the white marking on her head has been named 'Star' since she is frequently caught on camera.

Our nettle patch was pathetic last summer so I am hoping for better growth this year. Nettles provide good habitats, and the signs so far are promising. 

Our small daffodils withstood the storm pretty well, but our crocuses became so droopy that I doubted they would pick up again. Remarkably most are now standing once more. A large Buff-tailed Bumblebee swooped down to investigate.

I was delighted to find this little Violet in the shady corner that used to be our 'wildlife patch' in the days before we turned virtually the whole garden into a home for wildlife. I don't ever recall seeing Violets here before and this discovery has made me think I will try to record species of wildflowers as they appear.  

This is my fledgling list for 2021:

1. Daisy

2. Violet

I hope it will continue to expand. 

P.S. I saw my first Grey Squirrel of 2021 this afternoon, and two Buzzards flew overhead.

#30DaysWild, Day 7: Knapweed, a New Plant on the Block

I have still to finish my Monarch butterfly picture so I am doing a relatively short post today. Once again it has been grey and potentially stormy here in our part of Suffolk. The Great Spotted Woodpecker has visited our coconut feeders, along with a huge brood (or two perhaps) of recently fledged Blue tits. I would say they are just beyond the semi-fledging stage, to use Michaela Strachan's term. 

We have had a small 'wild patch' in our suburban garden for some years, but our unmown 'wild garden' is a new experiment for us this year, and we are keen to see what surprises lie in store. The grass was beginning to look very dry before this weekend, and I hope the rain showers will perk it up a bit. I have had my eye on the Knapweed plant above for some weeks now. I imagine the seed was deposited in what used to be lawn as is now a micro-meadow by a bird or perhaps in a gust of wind. I noticed yesterday evening that one of the tight flower buds had opened, revealing the colourful thistle-like head you see in the photo above. My hope is that as soon as the sun comes out and the temperatures rise, it will attract bees and possibly butterflies and moths. 

I think the plant may be Common Knapweed, but I am not very sure so do correct me if you know otherwise. 

Snapshots from RSPB Minsmere

We spent a couple of hours at RSPB Minsmere over the Bank Holiday weekend. The weather turned slightly hazy, but it was largely bright. There were a few butterflies on the wing but nothing like the numbers we had seen at Wicken Fen two weeks before. 

We were told that the Adders were about, so we kept an eagle eye on the ground. At one point when David was standing still he sensed a scuffle, and there scuttling across the path towards his foot was a Common Lizard.

It didn't hang about for long: you can just see it disappearing into the dead leaves on the far side.

The Bluebell wood was shimmering in the dappled light ...

... and, as you can see, Bluebells were not the only plants in flower on the reserve.

Look at the size of this Sea Cabbage: it will be enormous soon!

The sea is hard to beat, but this is one of my favourite Minsmere views, looking over the reedbeds and up to the coastguard cottages on Dunwich Heath. 

It was good to see that the Sand Martins had returned.

David