I would urge everybody who has an interest in botany to get involved with the #wildflowerhour on a Sunday evening between 8 and 9pm – it’s a great opportunity to share your sightings and see what everyone else is seeing.
As people from across the country get involved, you can get a real feel for how the latitude affects phenology – species flower down in Kent and Sussex a good week or two before they typically appear here in the midlands whilst Scotland still had bluebells after all of my local ones were over.
Another great thing about it is as a tool to help you out with tricky ID’s – so often people will spot a flower and recognise it as something they saw themselves but couldn’t identify. An extra reason why this works so well is, latitude aside, the posts are current and seasonal, so you know that the species is in flower now.
#wildflowerhour was originally set up by @fennelandfern and is supported by @bsbibotany – you can get involved by simply posting a photograph of a wildflower, and a little bit about it, with the hashtag #wildflowerhour between 8 and 9 on a Sunday evening.
My #wildflowerhour find of the week – a hitherto unknown colony of 10+ bee orchids on my walk to work! pic.twitter.com/XGYwgBIzYE
— Grantham Ecologist (@GranthamEcology) June 19, 2016
Stormy Skies Part 1 – field poppy, sheep’s sorrel, lesser stitchwort and hogweed #Wildflowerhour pic.twitter.com/h8te0OIHpc
— Grantham Ecologist (@GranthamEcology) June 19, 2016
Stormy Skies Part 2 – dogrose, white clover, white campion and buttercup #wildflowerhour pic.twitter.com/HTHBkJVXxc
— Grantham Ecologist (@GranthamEcology) June 19, 2016
White and purple variants of these dove’s foot cranesbill in the same arable corner each year #wildflowerhour pic.twitter.com/MTorRonMFM
— Grantham Ecologist (@GranthamEcology) June 19, 2016
My favourite grass in flower – the delicate architectural quaking oat grass – Briza media #Wildflowerhour pic.twitter.com/ikGsne4iX7
— Grantham Ecologist (@GranthamEcology) June 19, 2016
These blue meadow cranesbill brighten up the roadside verges around me at the end of June each year #wildflowerhour pic.twitter.com/MXtC9xyChp
— Grantham Ecologist (@GranthamEcology) June 19, 2016
Black knapweed just starting to flower properly here in the midlands #Wildflowerhour pic.twitter.com/REoTHO9uu9
— Grantham Ecologist (@GranthamEcology) June 19, 2016
Wild mignette flowers on an bronze age trackway – once much damaged by 4x4s, now starting to recover #wildflowerhour pic.twitter.com/fRGzZ3p1ZV
— Grantham Ecologist (@GranthamEcology) June 19, 2016
Yellow toadflax almost flowering on Friday – hoping the first flowers will be out this week #wildflowerhour pic.twitter.com/X5gfVowjsp
— Grantham Ecologist (@GranthamEcology) June 19, 2016
Viper’s bugloss – a huge hit with the local bumblebees! #Wildflowerhour pic.twitter.com/iIy0WwaOoT
— Grantham Ecologist (@GranthamEcology) June 19, 2016