Blooming

Not only the orchids are in bloom at the moment. Among the hedgerows, the Dog Roses are in full bloom and to my mind, their delicate pink flowers are far more appealing than their more showy garden hybrids.

Dog Roses (Rosa canina) are rather variable in colour, but these pink flushed flowers are by far the most common. In the sunshine yesterday, their colour almost glowed and they were giving off the most wonderful fragrance.

Another member of the rose family is to be found growing around the old car parks of the Woodside Nature Reserve. The Potentilla shrubs were originally part of the decorative planting when the area belonged to the American Adventure theme park. Left behind when the park closed, they still flower every year and add their yellow blooms to the environment.

With last week's commemorations of D-Day, the next flower seemed rather appropriate. Common Poppies (Papaver rhoeas) have been a part of war time commemorations since the end of the first world war and where the ground has been disturbed by work to improve the nature reserve, they are coming up and flowering beautifully.

Poppy petals are like tissue paper which give them a delicate appearance and make them flutter in the lightest of wind. Viewed from below, against the sky and amongst the Sow Thistles, these looked particularly good.