June

With the grasses growing taller, ox-eye daisy, hawkbit, hawkweed and ragwort began to appear. The sunny days brought out a mass of new wild flowers: scarlet pimpernel, bird's-foot trefoil, bedstraws, poppies, St John's-wort, hedge woundwort, self-heal, white clover and broad-leaved willowherb in the fruit cage. Ivy and convolvulus, also known as bindweed, began to spread everywhere.

Up to fifty white helleborine orchids were found across the garden, many in new locations. These were followed by the bee orchids and then the spotted orchids and the pyramidals. The carpet of spotted orchids under the copper beech tree didn't happen this year, possibly due to the tree casting too much shadow. However we did get six bees. Sadly the belgarum variant that appeared a few years ago has not returned.

Self-heal, also known as heart-of-the-earth, brownwort, blue curls and carpenter's herb, is edible with its leaves added to a salad or the whole plant boiled and eaten as a potherb. Due to its flowers opening only when the sun shines, scarlet pimpernel has acquired names such as shepherd's weather glass, poorman's barometer and shepherd's clock.

In the past lady's bedstraw was dried and used to stuff mattresses as their scent acts as a flea repellant. Hedge bedstraw is also quaintly known as false baby's breath!

June 2020, as in May, many flowers appeared earlier this year. One sunny morning a rare sighting was made of a goatsbeard flower in full bloom. It is also known as 'Jack-(or John) go-to-bed-at-noon', as by late morning the flower has closed.

A new addition for this website has been found - dark mullein.

June 2022, an amazing year for bee orchids, forty plus found to date!