Out for a woodland walk at the weekend, I noticed how delayed the arrival of seasonal wildflowers has been. The very cold spring (even last night, temperatures around the country were barely 1 to 4C) has resulted in few wildflowers in bloom to enjoy.
Here are some examples of how I fared on Sunday, over a stretch of mixed woodland that I know well :
Ramsons (Wild Garlic) – Eight in bloom, where there should be literally thousands. Those that were open were positioned out at the edge of the Beech woodland, where they can receive a little more sunlight. Under the trees, there was not one open flower.
Bluebells – Very few in bloom and even then, the heads are not properly open out into their complete ‘bell’ shape.
Orchids – None whatsoever, at a time when I would normally see hundreds. This includes areas under the sun, where the first would normally bloom.
Lords and Ladies – None whatsoever; there should be tens.
Water Avens – Much fewer than normal.
Water Avens
I also noticed that new leaves on trees, such as the European Larch and Sally Willow, seem less advanced than normal. Nor did I hear a single Cuckoo.
I did, however, enjoy the beautiful bright green spring leaves of the Beech tree.
Luckily, the weather is supposed to finally warm up over the coming days and the May bank holiday weekend is announced nice and dry (-ish).
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