My theme this year is wild flowers. Most of us will be aware of the flowers that grow in our gardens but what surprises me is how few of the wild flowers that I know.
I pass them every day but rarely look at them. Well this year will be different - even if many of them may fall under the letter 'X' for unknown.
'W' - Woodbine, White Deadnettle
For me the word woodbine has always been synonymous with the wartime cigarettes. I never expected it to give me a flower for the letter 'W'.
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| Woodbine in the early spring |
It's a climbing plant that may be seen in hedgerows and in woods. The stems turn woody and silvery-grey as they mature.
The flowers soon become more pronounced with a promise of things to come.
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| Woodbine flower shaping up |
Eventually flowers up to 5 inches long hang in clusters; creamy, white flowers turn cream and may be flushed with purple. At dusk their strong flowers attract moths; during the day they are pollinated by bees.
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| Woodbine |
Of course you may know it by another name - also associated with bees - it's Honeysuckle to me.
It should be no surprise therefore to find that, if you pluck one of the flowers, you can suck nectar from the narrow end.
The honeysuckle (woodbine) has glossy scarlet berries in the autumn.
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| Honeysuckle outside our bedroom window |
Another flower from which it is possible to suck nectar is one that I tasted regularly as a child.
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| White deadnettle |
You would need to be careful here as it is growing among the stinging variety. Better to find one that is growing on its own.
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| White deadnettle |
Its white flowers make it easy to find and identify at roadsides, in hedges, in woodlands and on waste ground.
