A Practice of Observation

It's incredible to witness the swift succession of plant life as the weeks go by. Just as we are beginning to learn about the wildflowers and plants that surround us, those which were dominant for weeks vanish, and new plants alight.

 

Lesser Stitchwort

Herb Robert with Bracken

The spring began with Hairy Bittercress, Nettles, Cleavers, Wild garlic, Bluebells and Herb Robert. Then Mouse Ear Chickweed, Pignut and Stitchworts began to cover the fields, soon joined by Cotton grass, Buttercups, Foxgloves, Red Campion, Curled Dock, Jack-by-the-Hedge and Sorrel to name but a few.

 

Beck-side Umbellifer

The roadside towards home.

Now the Brambles are flowering, and just as the Foxgloves are beginning to wane - the first Harebell.

Discovering the local plant life is a continuous practice of observation. As I try to uncover the possible medicinal or edible aspects of one plant, it - seemingly as quickly as it arrived - is going to seed, and being replaced by entirely new plants as the seasons progress.

As the weeks pass, I'm having to adjust my presumptions about what is here - and what I'm able to gather for food or medicine - just as I have to adjust my gardening practices to suit this soil, weather, flora and fauna.

I must learn from what already flourishes here; observing what grows, what conditions dominate, what is able to thrive - and in so doing, adapt my practices and behaviours to, hopefully, thrive here also.

 

Harebell

Ragged Robin

A list of Common and Botanical names used in this post:

Bluebell; Hyacinthoides non-scripta
Bramble or Blackberry; Rubus fruticosus
Buttercup, Bulbous; Ranunculus bulbosus
Buttercup, Creeping; Ranunculus repens
Buttercup, Meadow; Ranunculus acris
Cleavers; Galium aparine
Cotton grass or Bog cotton; Eriophorum angustifolium
Curled or Yellow Dock; Rumex crispus
Foxglove; Digitalis purpurea
Hairy Bittercress; Cardamine hirsuta
Harebell; Campanula rotundifolia
Herb Robert; Geranium robertianum
Jack-by-the-hedge or Garlic Mustard; Alliaria petiolata
Mouse Ear Chickweed; Cerastium fontanum
Nettle; Urtica dioica
Pignut or Earthnut; Conopodium majus
Ragged Robin; Lychnis flos-cuculi
Red Campion; Silene dioica
Sorrel, Common; Rumex acetosa
Stitchwort, Greater; Stellaria holostea
Stitchwort, Lesser; Stellaria graminea
Wild garlic or Ramsons; Allium ursinum