Spring Messenger

Usually one of the first of the Spring flowers and often described as a 'Spring Messenger' as a result, the Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) is a glorious sight as it begins to open its shiny, yellow flowers.  At the moment, they can be found all over the place on Shipley Park and so are frequently overlooked.  This is a great shame as they are such beautiful little blooms.  This small patch was growing in a patch of sunlight, filtering through the trees along the old Nutbrook Canal.

Of course, the most recognisable of all wild flowers has to be the Daisy (Bellis perennis).  Well known by all as the building blocks of daisy chains, they grace any area of grassland with their small, but perfect white flowers.  The 'flower' is actually an inflorescence made up of numerous tiny, yellow flowers forming the central disc, surrounded by the white-petalled flowers known sometimes as asterales or ray florets.  Here, some of them are tipped with a pale mauve-pink hue.

Standing a lot taller than either of these plants are the Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata).  Again a common plant in these parts, they are members of the Brassica family, a fact which is demonstrated by their four-petalled, cruciform flowers.  These flowers are held in clusters on top of the stem which stands up to three feet tall.  The leaves give off a smell of garlic when crushed and as such can be used in salads and as an ingredient of pesto sauces.  For this reason, it has acquired the name of Poor-man's Garlic in some parts.

Lastly for today, another scented plant which is at it's best at the moment.  Gorse (Ulex europaeus), also sometimes called Furze, is a tough, spiky, evergreen shrub and it is said that somewhere in Britain, Gorse will be in flower every day of the year.  The Gorse bushes around here have taken a bit of a battering over the last couple of Winters and the bitterly cold temperatures we have had, have taken their toll.  But thankfully, they are slowly recuperating and their flowers are once again, covering their spiny stems.

In the warm sunshine, these flowers smell quite strongly of coconut and so are a delight to the nose as well as the eyes.

Blue

It wasn't only the sky that was blue yesterday.  As we turned our steps homeward, we strolled through Mapperley (known to us as Bluebell) Wood and were not disappointed.

Bluebells (Hycinthoides non-scripta) are always a welcome harbinger of Spring and their sweet scent wafted through the trees yesterday as the sun warmed their flowers.

Parts of the wood were carpeted with these little flowers especially where the soil is damp.  Being a moisture-loving plant, Bluebells do well in most parts of the UK, except some of the more arid, South-eastern areas where the chalky soils tend to be too dry for them.  No such problems around these parts however.

With the air filled with Bluebell perfume and the songs of Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Wren, Whitethroat, Blackcap, Robin, Blackbird, Collard Dove and Woodpigeon, there could be no finer place on earth.

Glorious

It was a bright, sunny and warm morning today, so we set out for a 7 mile walk through Shipley Park, towards the Visitors' Centre near Heanor.  This route took us across the meadows around Shipley Hill.  The trees here are looking beautiful in the sun with their newly-emerging foliage, bright and colourful against the blue sky.

From here, we walked across the fields towards Cinder Hill and the Visitors' Centre before turning our steps in the direction of Mapperley Reservoir.  We were so glad we did, as the Blackthorn bushes around the reservoir were looking at their very best.

Some were absolutely covered in blossom.  It was difficult to see where any more flowers could have been placed.

I'm afraid, I went a little mad with the photos of these glorious blossoms, but who could blame me?

Go on then, just one more...

We returned via Mapperley Wood, what Malcolm and I know more usually as  Bluebell Wood and our name for it was very appropriate this morning, but I'll save those pictures for tomorrow...

Bright

Having waited for so long for the Spring to finally arrive, everything seems to be desperately trying to catch up now.  The Hedgerows are looking fantastic at the moment.  I mentioned the Cherry trees and their showy blossoms, but the Blackthorn bushes are trying to out-do the Cherries with their blossoms.

Under the hedges, close to Straw's Bridge several large patches of Cowslips are in full flower now.   One particular patch has some larger-flowered, orange flowered plants among them as well as one plant which seems to be a hybrid between the two distinct types.

Some of the flowers are not as colourful as these, but are still well worth noticing.  Among these are the Field Maples which are covered in pale, lime-green flowers which, unless you take a close look, you might mistake for their newly opening leaves

Closer to the ground, fresh green swathes of Dog's Mercury are carpeting parts of the countryside.  Again, these little flowers need close inspection to really appreciate their beauty and are sadly, usually overlooked and when growing in your garden, dismissed simply as 'weeds'.  There is no such thing of course, a 'weed' is simply a flower in the wrong place..!

Brimstone and Cherry

Back home from our Mediterranean wanderings and things are looking a bit more 'Spring-like'. The weather has taken a long-awaited turn for the better and, as we expected, the trees and flowers of our local environs have started to catch up with things.  Butterflies too have started to make their presence felt, with Orange Tips, Peacocks and Small Whites flitting about.  Among these, we found a solitary Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) resting on a Narcissus flower.

These butter-coloured butterflies are often considered to be the originators of the name 'Butter-fly'.  They are among the first to appear each Spring and the shape of their folded wings camouflage them very well among the newly opening leaves and flowers.
In the sunshine of the last few days, the Cherry trees have started to open their blossom in spectacular fashion, both white...

...and pink.  This one seeming to be trying to out-blossom it's neighbours - and succeeding with brightly coloured knobs on.

Some trees have, of course yet to open a single leaf and the woods which surround Mapperley Reservoir are still dotted with bare branched individuals.  These look stately and 'artistic' when viewed from directly below, looking into the blue sky.  Quite lovely!

In The Pink

Today, just a few last pictures from our jaunt around Santa Ponsa and these all have a 'pink' theme.  As I mentioned the other day, there were some lovely walks to be had around the area and the Spring flowers were very good too.  In the woodland of the Puig de Sa Morisca, we found several, starting with that most ubiquitous of Mediterranean plants, the Grey-leaved Cistus (Cistus albidus).

With petals which resemble crumpled tissue paper, and also rather wrinkled, greyish leaves, these small shrubs are common throughout the region and at this time of year make a wonderful show, particularly under the shady pines.
Another well known and abundant flower to be found in the Med' is the thistle-like Galactites (Galactites tomentosa), sometimes called Milk Thistle.  Here, the flowers were being attended to by a number of pollen beetles which seemed intent on their labours in amongst the flower petals

Yet another common flower and another with pinkish petals is the Field Gladiolus (Gladiolus italicus).  Again, they were fairly abundant in the shade of the pine trees, but their bright little flowers, held on a stalk up to two feet high, made them a joy to find.

A much smaller flower next and one which goes by the common name of Virgin's Mantle or in Spanish, Manto de la Virgen (Fagonia cretica).  Found all over the Balearic Islands as well as the Alicante region of Mainland Spain, it is a plant which enjoys the arid conditions of a rocky coastline and seems to respond well to a tough habitat.

Lastly, a new 'tick' for me and one we were lucky to find as it was right at the end of it's flowering period.  The flowers of this pale form Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis) were showing signs of coming to an end, but it was still a joy to find.  In some parts of the Mediterranean - particularly the Eastern end - the tuberous roots of this plant are dried and ground into a starchy flour called Salep and is used in drinks and deserts, but this one seemed safe enough.

Farming

Continuing with yesterday's historical theme, we discovered another, larger reconstructed hut within the archaeological park of Puig de Sa Morisca.  This one would have belonged to a Farmer, or Smallholder and his family, about two thousand years ago.  Malcolm seemed to be sizing it up to move in and indeed there would have been plenty of room inside.  You couldn't criticise the location either.

Inside, there was a raised platform at one end - probably forming some sort of sleeping area, and several niches built into the walls for storage and cooking, but as I said to Malcolm, with a roof like that, you couldn't be too picky about insects dropping into your vichyssoise!

Back outside and the views up the hill to the rocky outcrop were breathtaking.  Just the place to be on a hot, sunny day as the pines provided some wonderful shade and as we seemed to be the only people on the hill at the time, the peace and quiet were just perfect.

Among the wildlife to be found here, there were several Swallowtail Butterflies flitting about.  Now sadly very rare in Britain, these little stunners are still fairly easy to find around Europe and especially the Mediterranean regions.

This one had lost one if it's 'tails' but was still absolutely beautiful and with it's three-inch wingspan, made quite an impression.