Welted Thistle at the #Wiltshire #WildlifeTrust site at #LowerMoorFarm. Just look at the spines on that. #WildflowerHour #Bloomscrolling #botany #plants #flowers #wildflowers #photography

This was an exciting find. A new species for the ever-growing list of plants that have sown themselves into the cracks in the paving of my driveway. Hemp Agrimony. I have no idea how it got here and I'm now starting to struggle to find somewhere to park. #WildflowerHour #Swindon #Wiltshire #Bloomscrolling #botany #plants #flowers #wildflowers #photography

I'm late for #WildflowerHour as I often am, although this time due to the football on the TV rather than to travelling. I did manage one #DeadnettleFamily sighing during the week - Water Mint at RSPB Rye Meads on Friday on the way to my dragonfly-hunting site for the day. #Bloomscrolling #botany #plants #flowers #wildflowers #photography

27/07/2025 - I was tired today so didn't have much energy for looking for wild flowers. Just enough for an afternoon plod round the quiet roads. These two St John's-worts and a couple of others did catch my eye though so I summoned the energy to bend down to take a few snaps for today's #WildFlowerHour. The ground seems farther away with each passing year.

Trailing St John's-wort
Slender St John's-wort
Lesser Stitchwort
Shining Crane's-bill

Perennial Sowthistle defying the mower on the grass verge.

Fox- and-Cubs growing at the local churchyard.
#WildflowerHour

Common Restharrow growing along a local footpath. #WildflowerHour

Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) produces flattened, oblong seed pods that turn black when mature and then explode open, scattering seeds. #wildflowerhour #nature #biodiversity #Hellfire

This week's #WildflowerHour challenge is #DeadnettleFamily i.e. try to find a member of the Labiate family, or I summpse they're lamiates now? Deadnettles, mints, sages, that sort of thing. As always, the challenge isn't compulsory and you can post anything you feel like.
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:buixdyu6id73glkhjl3ew6fs/post/3lun2do4mpk2o

The Hellfire trail verges are ablaze with a stunning cascade of Rosebay Willow-herb, painting the path in brilliant hues of pink and magenta. #thursdayvibes #wildflowerhour #nature

Because of the #HarebellChallenge I went to a nearby #Wiltshire #WildlifeTrust reserve which I expected to have them, Clout's Wood. It has a nice chalky grassland hillside which I'm sure I've seen them on before. Not a hint of them. However the Woolly Thistle population was having a good year and there were hundreds of those. Incredible things. #WildflowerHour #Wiltshire #Bloomscrolling #botany #plants #flowers #wildflowers #photography

There was supposed to be a #HarebellChallenge for #WildflowerHour this week. Harebells are a bit tricky to find in #Swindon, but the two common Campanula species the grow on walls are everywhere in Old Town. Well, usually. This year's been so dry it was hard to find one in flower. Did find this one, Trailing Bellflower, but Wall Bellflower eluded me completely. #Wiltshire #Bloomscrolling #botany #plants #flowers #wildflowers #photography

Another find from #Dartmoor, growing in a bog pool by a stream. I think it's Pond Water Crowfoot, but according to my book ruling out other similar species would mean getting a lot closer to the plant than I could without swimming. There are limits to what I'll do to ID a plant. #WildflowerHour #Devon #Bloomscrolling #botany #plants #flowers #wildflowers #photography

Four finds from #Dartmoor at the start of the week, all of which I've seen there before. Lesser Skullcap, Marsh St John's Wort, Bog Pimpernel and Creeping Forgetmenot. #WildflowerHour #Devon #Bloomscrolling #botany #plants #flowers #wildflowers #photography

To make up for the last, this unexpected and very welcome find. It is Red Bartsia (Odontites vernus). I found this in the local nature reserve, where the soil is rich clay. This is a hemiparasite so it will weaken the coarse grass. I should have changed the aperture...

I am cheating of course. This is common hogweed. But look at the life on this. All part of a food chain. Fortunate that it is common.

To be celebrated.
#WildflowerHour

Common Fleabane. Such a sunny flower. #WildflowerHour

Lots of Dwarf Spurge growing at the edge of an arable field.
#WildflowerHour

Broomrape flowers always look dead because they have no chlorophyll so no green bits. I think this is Common Broomrape but they're not easy to identify without seeing the host plant they parasitise. Seen in #Cambridgeshire for #WildflowerHour a couple of weekends ago while on my way home from my Norfolk trip. Rather an exciting find because although it's not uncommon I don't think I've seen it before. #Bloomscrolling #botany #plants #flowers #wildflowers #photography

Catching up after missing a couple of #WildflowerHour sessions due to travelling. A couple of weeks ago I went dragonfly-hunting in #Swindon at Rivermead and found these plants while I was looking: Water Speedwell, Sneezewort, Branched Bur-reed, Fleabane. #Wiltshire #Bloomscrolling #botany #plants #flowers #wildflowers #photography