Pinks and Reds

As we have seen in previous posts, yellow and white flowers seem to outnumber other colours. So it's good to see a few pink and red flowers starting to burst forth. Firstly, the Hawthorn. Hang on a minute, isn't Hawthorn blossom white? Well, normally it is, but these cultivars growing near to the paths around Straw's Bridge show a different side entirely.

Tumbling over the fence of a garden which backs onto the trail, this double flowered variety certainly gives good value.

Moving on, we find a much smaller flower growing around the lake. These pink flowers belong to the Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi).

A great favourite of many species of butterfly and the long-tongued bees, numbers of these flowers have declined rapidly in recent years due to loss of habitat. The name comes from it's rather ragged looking flowers.
Another pink flower is to be found in abundance, growing around the now derelict entrance to the American Adventure Theme Park, near by. These belong to the Weigela. Again, a garden shrub, not a native, but still worthy of note.

Actually a native of Eastern Asia, they are named after a German scientist Christian Ehrenfried Weigel.