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English Wild Flowers: A Month by Month Guide
Introduction
Walking, whether in the countryside or neighbourhood, is a main leisure activity.
Like me, you may be frustrated at seeing wild flowers that you think you should be
able to name.
This web site is my attempt to remedy this situation. I hope that it increases your
enjoyment of not just the countryside but also of paths, wasteland, walls and
hedgerows in urban areas.
Organisation
It is organised on a monthly basis. This gives you an idea of what to look out
for at different times of the year.
Months are accessed, either by clicking on a name from the list below, or by
putting the cursor on the month at the top of the page.
Plants are listed in alphabetical order in the month in which they first appear.
This is not necessarily the peak in their flowering season.
January is an exception because it includes plants which flower all year round.
It is a work in progress - there are many plants still to be added, particularly
for the summer months. Recent additions and alterations are in the last section of the
website.
I have also included some non-flowering plants,e.g. ferns (Azolla, Royal Fern),
a cyanobacterium (Nostoc) and Dog vomit slime mold, because you are likely to come across them.
The pages are set up on my computer screen at a zoom of 125% This seems to
keep the sentences unbroken.
What are classed as wild flowers?
The different types of wild flower: native, naturalised, alien, etc. are shown
on this link - Which plants are classed as wild flowers?.
In deciding whether a flower is wild or not, I follow the guidelines of the
Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) and the National Biodiverity
Flowering season
The scientific study of the timing of the biological events in plants such as
flowering, is known as phenology.
The time when a plant flowers is controlled by its genetics, day length and
climate.
Of these factors, climate is the main factor that varies from year to year
and is therefore mainly responsible for differences in the timing of flowering.
In mild winters, for example, spring flowers appear earlier and the previous
summer's flowers last longer, especially close to habitation. The effects
are less marked in the open countryside
Long-term, persistent changes in the timing of flowering can be used as a
measure of climate change. You can keep your own records for this purpose.
Photography
Several photographs are shown for each flower. They are chosen to illustrate
diagnostic characteristics mentioned in field guides and floras.
My current camera is an Olympus Stylus SH-1.
Pictures have been cropped, but not otherwise manipulated, using Adobe
Photoshop.
Sources
The sources I use for identification: field guides, websites, county floras and
books are listed on the sources page.
Web Statistics
The number of people accessing this site are shown on the Web Statistics
page. Last year - 2022, the site was accessed 2,035,299 times.
About me
I retired in 2006 after 40 years as a microbiologist at Lancaster University and
returned to my first scientific interest, plants, showing that it is never too late
to use your first degree (botany).
I took all the pictures (except for those in which I appear) and did all the
identifications and descriptions of the plants.
Dedication
Violetta, my wife, encouraged the setting up of the site and quickly realised
the potential of digital cameras. She was also insistant that I needed a hobby.
Sadly, Violetta died in 2012.
This website is my celebration of her life.
Other family
I have two daughters, Pia and Tamsin, both published writers. Pia is an
arts psychotherapist who has written a series of beautifully illustrated
‘therapeutic fairytales’, rooted in nature to support children.
Tamsin is a children’s fiction author with two series of adventure novels,
Cat Burglar and Stunt Double - Tamsin Cooke.
Tamsin designs and runs creative writing workshops in schools across
the country and internationally via zoom.
Recently, Pia and Tamsin have collaborated on a new venture to help
children connect to nature and their creativity across the seasons, with
Rewilding Children’s Imaginations, 99 Creative Activities Inspired by
Nature and Folktales from Around the World.
Feedback
I welcome feedback, corrections and suggestions.
Email me on - keithjones415@outlook.com
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
October to December
Next page: Sources