AH64D

Corn cockle in amongst poppies. Corn Cockle is now virtually extinct in the wild.

Self Heal

Hyacinthoides non-scripta - English Bluebells There bluebells were no other bluebells around, just these. In the edge of a banking around the outside of a field of wheat. Lancashire North West UK. Sony DSC-HX1 Thanks to those who voted for the image in the Blue Challenge in a 'Wildflowers of the World' group challenge. !http://ih1.redbubble.net/work.4741671.1.flat,300x300,075,f.flowering-bulbs-feature-banner.jpg! !http://ih1.redbubble.net/image.11197028.5548/flat,550x550,075,f.jpg! !http://ih3.redbubble.net/image.11395278.4213/papergc,441x415,w,ffffff.jpg!

Fritillaria Meleagris being gatekeepers for the early part of spring

These appear to be quite hardy little things. The part of the field where this grows had a stretch of drain put in a couple of years ago and whilst the ground has dried and is much more solid, this has kept coming back. There are several species of Marsh Orchid. If you happen to know what it is, please let me know and I shall amend the title. Lancashire, NW England Sony DSC-HX1 !http://ih2.redbubble.net/image.11196994.5506/flat,550x550,075,f.jpg!

Cali Pop basking in the sun

Forget me not Lancashire NW England Sony DSC-HX1 !http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn93/intenselygentle/Flower-1.jpg! !http://ih3.redbubble.net/work.6557826.2.flat,300x300,075,f.color-me-a-rainbow-feature-banner.jpg!

Ecianchea Prupurea and Rudbeckia Sony DSC-HX400V

A solitary snake's head fritillary (Fritillaria Meleagris) raises its head above the dewy grass on a clear April morning. Not often in the North West of England, do you also get the benefit of a clear blue sky in April. Hopefully it will be back in the spring. Lancashire, NW England !http://ih0.redbubble.net/work.4860396.1.flat,550x550,075,f.cb-banner.jpg!

These two lilies don't always both open up on the same day. Today for instance the one in the background has remained closed, the day before this one was taken,the one in the foreground had remained closed. So conditions must have been ideal for both to open up when this was taken yesterday. There is a third. We shall have to wait and see what happens there. Sony DSC HX400V Lancashire NW England !https://ih1.redbubble.net/work.10702673.1.mtd,375x360,n,s,Kioq,ffffff.jpg! !https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.494590288.3484/flat,300x300,075,f.u1.jpg! !https://ih0.redbubble.net/image.125585801.1915/flat,300x300,075,f.u2.jpg!

Bird's-eye Gilia. These are a small wildflower, though not exactly wild in this case as they are grown from wildflower seeds commercially available. Lancashire NW England Sony DSC-HX1 !http://ih2.redbubble.net/image.13592361.1388/flat,550x550,075,f.jpg! !http://ih1.redbubble.net/image.14368610.8112/flat,550x550,075,f.jpg! !http://ih0.redbubble.net/work.6804555.1.flat,550x550,075,f.blooms-all-seasons-featured-banner.jpg! !http://ih1.redbubble.net/image.13848092.4870/flat,550x550,075,f.jpg! !http://ih3.redbubble.net/work.6202738.1.flat,550x550,075,f.wildflowers-of-the-world-feature-banner.jpg! !http://ih1.redbubble.net/image.12058156.4765/flat,550x550,075,f.jpg! !http://ih1.redbubble.net/work.7424049.1.flat,215x...

The yellows of the Corn Marigolds have taken over from poppy reds

A busy bee visiting a wild iris on a sunny May afternoon in 2011 Lancashire NW England Sony DSC HX-1 !http://ih3.redbubble.net/work.3565288.3.flat,300x300,075,f.jpg!

Unusually for Britain, this is not the result of rain. It's a reasonably early April morning (9.08am if you want to be precise :)) and these tiny cuckoo flowers are heavy with the dew droplets. Lancashire NW England Sony DSC-HX1 !http://ih0.redbubble.net/image.11615072.0150/flat,450x300,075,f.jpg! !http://ih1.redbubble.net/work.7424049.1.flat,215x200,075,f.jpg! !http://ih1.redbubble.net/image.14001472.7338/flat,300x300,075,f.jpg!

Pink Poppy Lancashire NW England Sony DSC HX400V !http://ih1.redbubble.net/work.10702673.1.mtd,375x360,n,s,Kioq,ffffff.jpg! !http://ih1.redbubble.net/image.119610897.9978/flat,140x140,075,t.u1.jpg!

Digitalis purpurea The leaves, flowers and seeds of this plant are all poisonous to humans and some animals and can be fatal if ingested. Lancahsire NW England Sony DSC-HX400 !https://ih1.redbubble.net/work.7424049.1.flat,225x210,075,f.jpg! !https://ih0.redbubble.net/image.11615072.0150/flat,450x300,075,f.jpg!

Forget-Me-Not

Bearded Iris. With two more blooms looking to make an appearance in the coming days Lancashire NW England Sony DSC HX400V !https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.14001472.7338/flat,220x200,075,f.jpg! !https://ih0.redbubble.net/image.5544886.3170/flat,400x440,075,f.jpg! !https://ih0.redbubble.net/image.42825984.4290/pp,550x550.u1.png! !https://ih1.redbubble.net/work.4741671.1.flat,300x300,075,f.flowering-bulbs-feature-banner.jpg!

3 March 2011 Lancashire NW England The same hedge bottom where these are located has snowdrops in flower much earlier this year - since 7 January. Are they wild? Snowdrops don't colonise by seeding except possibly in very mild conditions and so it is more likely that they were planted as bulbs at some point along this particular hedge bottom, beside a farm track, where they have been left to do their own thing. Their blooms should not be taken indoors, as it is said to bring bad luck and have been described as a 'Corpse in its shroud' An old wives tale? I don't know, but won't be tempting fate. Sony DSC-HX1 !http://ih1.redbubble.net/work.7303156.1.fp,375x360,black,offwhite,box,l,ffffff.jpg! !http://ih0.redbubble.net/wor...

The flower maybe long gone, but a Dandelion Clock, full of seeds waiting to be carried off on the breeze, can look just as interesting and eyecatching. Lancashire NW England Sony DSC-HX1 !http://ih3.redbubble.net/work.6202738.1.flat,550x550,075,f.wildflowers-of-the-world-feature-banner.jpg!

English Bluebells with a fallen tree in the background English Bluebells are a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Landowners are prohibited from removing common bluebells on their land for sale and it is a criminal offence to remove the bulbs of wild common bluebells. They are protected because they face many threats and are an important species to preserve. Threats in the UK include the loss of ancient woodland habitat, the illegal collection of bulbs and cross-breeding (hybridisation) with non-native bluebells. Lancashire NW England Sony DSC HX400V !https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.65153407.7507/pp,550x550.u3.png! !https://ih0.redbubble.net/work.7778653.1.flat,500x500,075,f.featured.jpg! !h...

An eryngium growing amidst California Poppies Lancashire NW England Sony DSC HX400V

Wild Iris Lancashire NW England Sony DSC-HX1 !http://ih2.redbubble.net/work.7759949.2.flat,300x300,075,f.alphabet-soup-series-1-2012.jpg! !http://ih1.redbubble.net/work.8157727.1.fp,375x360,black,off_white,box,l,ffffff.jpg! !http://ih1.redbubble.net/work.7220784.1.fp,375x360,black,offwhite,box,l,ffffff.jpg!

Fritillaria Meleagris Lancashire NW England Sony DSC HX400V

This is the same plant as "Bluebells in the Shade" but 12 months on. A few more bells. Quite a difference in colour when the sunlight is on them - more purple than blue It's still the only one in the near vacinity. Lancashire NW England Sony DSC HX-1 They're a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 !http://ih1.redbubble.net/work.8157727.1.fp,375x360,black,off_white,box,l,ffffff.jpg! !http://ih3.redbubble.net/work.7393439.1.flat,550x550,075,f.flowers-banner.jpg! !http://ih1.redbubble.net/work.9588564.1.flat,550x550,075,f.jpg! !http://ih3.redbubble.net/work.6202738.1.flat,550x550,075,f.wildflowers-of-the-world-feature-banner.jpg!

Spring seems a long way off just now, but you can always wish it would come quicker. These Daffodils were in a banking. The usual view of the daffodil is with the light very much in front or above them. I thought this view looked a little more unusual with the sun rising behind them. Picture taken in Lancashire NW England. Sony DSC-HX1 !http://ih3.redbubble.net/work.6202738.1.flat,550x550,075,f.wildflowers-of-the-world-feature-banner.jpg! !http://ih0.redbubble.net/work.4860396.1.flat,550x550,075,f.cb-banner.jpg!

Lesser Celandine from ground level Perennial herb Sony DSC HX400V Lancashire NW England !https://ih1.redbubble.net/work.10702673.1.mtd,375x360,n,s,Kioq,ffffff.jpg! !https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.562772774.9941/flat,400x400,075,f.u7.jpg!

Corn Marigolds - The bees love them

3 separate flowers, just so happens they seem to be almost equally spaced in height

Viola Tricolor against an acer backdrop

California Poppy - Eschscholzia Californica Lancashire NW England Sony DSC-HX1 !http://ih1.redbubble.net/work.7303156.1.fp,375x360,black,offwhite,box,l,ffffff.jpg! !http://ih1.redbubble.net/work.9515809.1.flat,550x550,075,f.jpg! !http://ih3.redbubble.net/work.7347205.1.flat,300x300,075,f.jpg!

Spring time flowers - Cuckoo Flowers and Bluebells

You may say the netting and barbed wire looks out of place. But if it weren't for it, the daff would probably never have made it to flower. Lancashire, NW England Sony DSC-HX1 !http://ih3.redbubble.net/work.6557826.2.flat,215x200,075,f.color-me-a-rainbow-feature-banner.jpg! !http://ih3.redbubble.net/work.6202738.1.flat,550x550,075,f.wildflowers-of-the-world-feature-banner.jpg!

Looking straight up from the hawthorn hedge bottom, under the bluebells ... something a little differen :) Bluebells a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 English Bluebells - hyacinthoides non scripta Lancashire NW England Sony DSC HX-1

Don't be deceived by those clear blue skies. These poppies were taking a battering in high winds in North West England in June 2011 when the picture was taken. The Corncockle which can also be seen in there are far more sturdy. They opend up a few days later. Such a shame that the poppy only blooms for such a short period of time. Sony DSC-HX1

The strong silk is weighed down by the heavy dew on the spider's web. Lancashire NW England Sony DSC-HX1 !http://ih3.redbubble.net/work.6999485.2.flat,550x550,075,f.untitled.jpg!