A Real Wildflower Meadow

 Some "gardening friends" invited us over this morning for coffee whilst the snakeshead fritillaries in their fields were in bloom. Although it was dull and misty en route we couldn't help being up lifted by the thousands of cowslips lining our route. However this abundance did not prepare us for the sight of their fields full of Spring wildflowers. The endless rains we had in January caused the river which borders their property, an old mill, to flood the worst that they had seen in the 17 years which they have lived there. So much so that the river had deposited heaps of river sand in the fields. However these true "water meadow" conditions evidently suit the resident flora.

There were snakeshead fritillaries everywhere. I grew a few in the UK but they were half the size of these. We didn't know where to put our feet for fear of treading on cowslips, violets, pulmonaria and countless other species.

They even had lots of tooth wort (Lathraea clandestina) which is a parasitic plant that grows on the roots of trees growing in moist conditions. About 10 years ago we found a small clump growing by the river in our village but we have never seen them since. Caroline told us that normally they are far more numerous along their river bank but this year the force of the water must have washed them away.

As you can tell we thoroughly enjoyed exploring this morning although it was a little disheartening for those trying to develop a prairie artificially. Still no sign of those 3600 alliums we planted in 2019 or the seeds John sowed last year. Hope springs eternal!!