The prima rosa, meaning first rose, or first flower of the year, is a perennial herb that can flower for an extended period, beyond its typical late winter to spring, with continued and consistent deadheading of flowers. The typical primrose displays pale yellow flowers but can naturally have white or pink flower forms. Common these days, due to the apparent free hybridisation with cultivated varieties are bright yellows, reds, and purples. There are many local names for this species, such as butter-rose and green jackets in Devon and simmeren in Yorkshire, however it seems that the closes ..read more

I started this blog 13 years ago today.  What started as a blog to document camping trips and bushcraft, took a turn deeper into nature, and particularly, flowers, when I became ill with ME and for a while was mostly housebound. Since I started this blog, I've published over 800 posts ranging from flower IDs to research, from historic gardens to my activities as a town councillor and local volunteer. During this time, I've gotten married, had two children, moved house, along with many other changes - but I always come back to this blog. I want to thank everyone that's come along for the ..read more

Stinking Hellebore At first glance, some hellebores are really nothing to look at, especially with face down to the soil as many have evolved to grow. This can often be extreme enough that those in a border may be dismissed as a clump of foliage or missed altogether. However, with a bit of attention, their beauty mesmerises, and they shine. While hellebores are well grown in gardens as a reliable perennial herb, Britain is the native home to only two species, which are woodland plants: stinking hellebore (Helleborus foetidus) and green hellebore (Helleborus viridis) known as green li ..read more

I am pleased to say that after emailing the Director of Council Services at Calne Town Council in September 2022, he agreed to the Council becoming a member of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.  The Council have now affixed the strimmer warning stickers appropriate equipment. The hedgehog species that you will see in Calne is the European Hedgehog, a vulnerable to extinction species with an expected lifespan of only 3 years. It is critical that this species gets the support and exposure that it deserves, even with small acts, such as checking equipment and spaces be ..read more

 -1- "Thneed's a Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need" The Lorax taught me that we can all fall victim to needing the new big thing. The thing that professes to be a magical thing that can help you improve your life. And that's ok - if it is something that's truly useful to you. But we need to consider where it comes from and how it was made. An excellent example being the Forest Stewardship Council who ensure that wood with their logo is from woodland managed appropriately. More on FSC here. It's also important to consider what you're going to do with your 'thneed' when it breaks or you ..read more

Mindful Minute at Lacock Abbey Rock Bridge, which stands next to the Bide Brook, which makes its way to the River Avon, Wiltshire ..read more

Hazel quickly followed the birches in establishing themselves and recolonising Britain after the last ice age. However, they cannot tolerate deep shade and cannot grow tall enough to reach the light (growing up to a maximum of 30 feet), therefore they are likely to be one of the first species you see on the edge of deciduous woodland. The flowers of Hazel are incomplete, to make up for that, the tree is monoecious, so it has both the male and female flower on the same plant. This differs from plants such as holly where the male flowers are on one individual and the female flowers on a differ ..read more

Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire is well known as a filming location for the Harry Potter films. However, its story goes much deeper in history than this. Founded in the early 13th century by Ela, Countess of Salisbury, as a nunnery of the Augustinian order, it was garrisoned in the English Civil War by Royalists and was eventually turned into a residence.  One resident that owned this beautiful collection of buildings was none other than William Henry By William Fox Talbot (1800-1877) - National Museum of Photography, Film and Television collection, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia ..read more

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