Wild Flowers in Bloom
12 July 2018
The valley is looking very colourful now that summer is here, and lots of the wild plants are flowering.
The picture above shows Marsh Woundwort, which is very common near the rivers and ditches. In the rivers, you can see Yellow Water-lily, Arrowhead and Water Forget-me-not. In a few places, you may spot Bladderwort, an insectivorous plant which is flowering now. The pretty, but invasive, Himalayan Balsam is also beginning to flower.
Most of the woodland flowers have finished now, but there is an abundance of the delicate white flowers of Enchanters Nightshade along the woodland paths.
Along the more open paths, there is Bird’s-Foot Trefoil, Ragwort, Ox-eye Daisy, Hedge Woundwort, Purple Loosestrife, Rosebay Willowherb and many others. Among the umbellifers, you can spot Wild Carrot with its distinctive, usually red or purple, central flower among the mass of white ones.
