Michael Peverett: plant landscape on the fly, June 1st 2013

Tuesday, June 04, 2013

plant landscape on the fly, June 1st 2013

[from my notebook]

Sunny day. Gardened, washed and loaded van, and walked down town, L[aura] bought surfinia basket at Mintys. Cow-parsley at height. Lilac at height. Hawthorn at height. Horse-chestnut, Allium, Sorbus intermedia (Swedish Whitebeam).

Saw a 'Shimidsu', still just in flower, in Foster Road. ('Pink Perfection' is still in flower, too.) [nb these are the last of the ornamental cherries, Prunus spp.]

Honeysuckle just starting. Magenta geranium [nb Geranium pyrenaicum, Hedgerow Crane's-bill]. Oxeye Daisy just starting. Picked Meadow-grass and vased it - it all seemed to be Rough. We reckon this is an indicator of how rough Frome is. Cow-parsley at its height. Mauve cranes'-bills out in L's garden [species unidentified, - they look like miniature G. sylvaticum, I'll try and remember to post an image one day]. Dame's Violet, Clematis montana.

Holly in bloom, not Elder yet. Nettles getting tall, Cleavers starting to sprawl.

All the grass is still green and lots of it with panicles, some flowering. Soft Brome and Barren Brome prominent. Beaked Hawk's-beard at height, also blotched hawkweed freshly out [nb Hieracium maculatum, Spotted Hawkweed], and Cat's-ear. Herb Bennet just starting. Sweet Woodruff in the lane. Aquilegias at their height. Poached-egg plant flowering triumphantly where I park the van, having sustained two strimmings. Green Alkanet at its early best. Stitchwort best ever in L's garden. Buttercups filling the pony fields. Chinese Wisteria best ever. Wallflowers, Forget-me-not, Herb Robert, Perennial Cornflower.

Unfamiliar grass by R. Avon in Bath - maybe California Brome Ceratochloa carinata.

Hogweed some tall heads now. Hemlock springing still green.

2 Comments:

At 2:12 pm, The Weaver of Grass said...: Hello Michael. Nice to meet you. After reading in today's Times that most people don't go further on the internet than the end of their noses - I am making a vow to click 'next' at the top of my blog every day, and you came up. You sound a kindred spirit with your love of wildflowers.
We farm in the Yorkshire Dales. Much of what you mention is not out yet here, although we are littered along the Lane with early purple orchids.
I shall call and see you again. Pop over and see me sometime.
At 5:02 pm, Michael Peverett said...: Nice to hear from you, Weaver. I admired the Early Purples at Cheddar Gorge a couple of weeks ago - everyone is saying it's an exceptional year for them, after the hard March. I like your blog, and I envied your walk from Swaledale to Teesdale. Coincidentally I was thinking about the Dales yesterday after listening to Mr Fox's mournful song "Leaving the Dales" in the car: "There's nowt but a heap of half-finished stones / In the yard where the mason made granite chips fly. / He's cut his last headstone, his hammer is idle, / He's wrapped up his chisels and laid them all by." - I go walking up north once a year or so, though this year I'm afraid I may miss out, I've used all my leave!