Thursday 16 April 2015

One of my favourites.

The marsh marigolds are out on the beck and there are celandine everywhere, but today there was no time to walk down to the beck.   However, I did know where there was a new patch of my other favourite Spring wildflower, so after lunch Tess and I went to photograph the patch.

It is coltsfoot -the name comes from the pattern on the stems I believe.   It is a real harbinger of Spring and produces flowers long before the leaves appear.   If people give it a quick glance they often mistake the flowers for small dandelions, but actually they bear no resemblance to dandelions at all.

They love waste ground and clay soil and there is a patch on the lane which comes every April.   I love to see them arrive.

10 comments:

Heather said...

Coltsfoot is such a pretty plant and seems to be less plentiful than the dandelion (cheerful though they are), which makes it a bit special.
It is such a beautiful time of year with something new to see every day.

A Heron's View said...

Celandine and Coltsfoot where would we be without them, for they are two very good herbs. The first is good for the eyesight amongst other things and the second is great for removing chestiness when a cold is present.

Philip said...

The coltsfoot brightens
Each bleak bank ;
And celandine gleams
Where the daisy whitens.

Charles Granville on Spring

Anna of Mutton Style and Years said...

We have celandine and anemones in our local wood in Sussex but I wouldn't recognise colts foot. Maybe it's not a woodland plant.

Frugal in Derbyshire said...

I love coltsfoot too. Have you noticed how many of the spring flowers are yellow? Is there a reason do you think?
( Had a comment from Parnsip re the carrot seed)

angryparsnip said...

Sometimes the most charming and delicate flowers grow in the harshest soil.

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

One of the earliest wildflowers to bloom here in northwest Ohio. And we used to think a great medicine for a sore throat but now they think it may cause liver damage. But lovely to see in the spring.

Frances said...

Thank you for the close up view of coltsfoot flowers. I don't think I have ever seen them before. If perhaps I did see them either over here or in my travels, I just didn't pay enough attention. Celandine I think I have seen.

(It is so embarassing to be my age and to have these doubts about recognizing brave little spring blooms. Still, my enthusiasm for learning more about these early bloomers might make me feel a bit better.)

I very much like Parsnip's comment about what grows from harsh soil. Wouldn't it be grand if this also applied to people? Perhaps it does.

xo

Cro Magnon said...

Lots of wild flowers here now, unfortunately I don't know what they're called (or I'd tell you).

MorningAJ said...

We're just back from Somerset and I've been so impressed by the flowers. The place is covered in primroses and cowslips and we even found some violets (white ones too!) It's been so pretty!