Wednesday 15 February 2012

Hotchpotch Herbs

Today I turned left at the end of my lane. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by so many pathways, trees & meadows. Here upon the North Downs - no matter the weather - the views are stunning. Hope you'll enjoy our walk  o'er vales & hills!!  First we walk though a wonderful rites of woodland passage way leading to the open North Downs :)




Today was a blustery day, the winds moves the clouds so quickly though so although it started off with rain clouds it quickly  changed to blue skies. It was lovely seeing some of our little herbal acquaintances :)
" You got a guest room? lol! I adore your countryside, Paules! Just enchanting:) Thank you for the 'walk" this morning:) Your first green plant might be lords and ladies, if so.. well you found another poisonous one I think! lol! Mark it with a question mark and keep an eye on it as it will develop lots of telling features"
Oh dear, so many poisonous plants :) I had no idea. Thank you Comfrey Cottage for your lovely words & kindness. Will take some more photos soon. :)

These are quite tall almost thistle like flowers, Think they were dried & would've snapped easily if I'd touched them. I left them to enjoy whatever life still remainth as they were quite beautiful & rather a lot of them about so I assume they weren't dead.


There's a whole area which just looks so Spring like because of its covering by these beautiful vibrant warming, happy, sunshine yellow flowers.  They're adorable not sure what they are but they certainly bring lots of bright cheerful colour against the otherwise bleak dead beige growth on that side of the Downs.

Think these are the remains of last seasons Sloe Berries, They're now shrivelled & dead but the branches look like the complex prickly Sloe bush.

These were beautiful decayed black seeds. The grass in parts still hasn't returned t its lush green. In other parts it has. Across the chalk land there is a stunning array of growth & decay nestling side by side.
Look carefully at these beautiful Hawthorns, looks as if they've naturally reseeded & are growing side by side. There is nothing protecting these little trees , totally explore - a 45 mile views sits ahead of them. Look at the way the wind has formed the biggest tree.  The smaller ones are sooo cute. It was amusingly lovely to see them all in order by height... smaller first.
 This lovely little shrub was covered/coated in the vivid yellow lichen kinda growth. Amazingly intricate & beautiful. Not sure if it is a lichen or something completely different.
This circle of fungi - I assume fungi of some sorts - is on the trunk of one of the trees  in the passage leading to the Downs.  I've zoomed in to show its perfect almost luminous presence. How strange!!
Always come back along the lovely tree lined passage, up to the bridle path, along a short road which will lead me within 5 mins straight to my  home. How lucky am I to be surrounded by such stunning trees & in such abundance.  Many of these trees have thorns but they can't all be Hawthorns as its a different structure. Many of them could be Sloe bushes, many I just don't know yet . .  but soon . .. .  watch this space :D 

"You really have an eye for taking interesting photos! Love the stair step windblown hawthorns, the seed heads, lichens and all the rest!That white crazy headed seed head is so cool! lol! Your descriptive words are as beautiful as your pictures. I feel like I was there with you! big hugs! "  Comfrey Cottage.  xoxoxox 
Thank you Dear Heart, lovely & kind words again. Glad you enjoyed our morning walk, just wait til Spring bursts from containment!! The vibrant flowers & gorgeous sunrise. Yes I have a guest room get your butt over the ocean you're more than welcome :) 

2 comments:

  1. I love the photos of your hawthorns in the wild! They are so different from the ones which grow near me. I think the more plants you recognise the more you find new ones you don't have a clue about - happy identification!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ooooh dear, I do hope they're Hawthorn!!. I suppose I don't know they are I was just guessing due to their thorns & the way they looked. They are beautiful & if you could see where they actually are you'd be even more impressed. they endure gale force winds at times, brave all elements & still thrive. Thank you for your lovely kind words, I am enjoying the identification process.

    ReplyDelete