Posted in Gardening, My garden, Uncategorized, tagged flowers, Gardening, Spring on May 28, 2018| 4 Comments »
Heuchera ‘Marmalade’
When we lost a huge ash tree in a storm last autumn (see here) it meant we also had to remove a a few big shrubs in order to clear away the tree’s remains. This left some open spaces so we took the opportunity in spring to plant a few new perennials to fill the gaps.
I have been taking snaps of these – and a few older flowers, over the last month or so, and here they are… (more…)
Posted in Nature, Uncategorized, tagged Cardiff Bay, Nature, The Wharf, weeds on May 20, 2018| 6 Comments »
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) beside the Wharf in late April
The Wharf (the old East Bute Dock) next to Cardiff’s County Hall in the Bay is greening up now spring has arrived. The small wild plants finding a niche on the stone and concrete surfaces around the water are at their best, before summer comes and they become overblown and tatty.
Here are some of my snaps from lunchtime walks on April 26 and May 8. As usual help would be appreciated with identification for one or two of the plants. (more…)
Posted in Nature, Trees, Uncategorized, tagged linden, Nature, Trees on May 13, 2018| 4 Comments »
Leaves of the linden (Tilia) beside the Wharf in Cardiff Bay on April 26
It’s mid May but here in Cardiff the weather is still a little chilly and changeable. But we have had a couple of hot, sunny days here and there and these have urged the linden tree (Tilia) beside the Wharf (old Bute East Dock) to sprout its greenery at last.
I knew this would happen so I have visited twice this month as I didn’t want to miss anything. In the space of a few weeks the red leaf buds have fully opened and the tree is now clad in green.
Here are some pictures comparing April 26 and May 8… (more…)
Posted in Nature, Trees, Uncategorized, tagged Nature, Trees on May 7, 2018| 10 Comments »
I have now managed to identify the mystery tree in front of County Hall, which at first I thought was a birch…
The tree-following link box has now closed for another month. To explore everyone’s updates, please go straight to the bottom of this post.
Spring has arrived at last in South Wales and mystery trees I had met in winter are suddenly identifiable as their leaves emerge.
I hope the weather has been warming up where you are, too.
…I know only two trees with white-backed leaves – one is the whitebeam (Sorbus aria) but this one in front of County Hall is definitely the white poplar (Populus alba). also known as the abele
The white poplar also featured in a blog post back in 2014: Poole Park: Beyond the silver tree…
We always love to read your tree news – so thank you to everyone who contributed this month. Here are the links…
Lea’s Menagerie in Mississippi – maple
Hollis (In the Company of Plants and Rocks) – boxelder (Acer negundo) and whatever’s nearby
Erika Groth in Sweden – bird cherry -and the changing seasons
Alison at the Blackberry Garden – quince
Flighty’s Plot – Mike’s medlars
Pat – Squirrelbasket – small-leaved linden
Thank you to everyone for taking part – see you all again on June 7!
If you are thinking of joining us next time, read all about the idea here.
Posted in Nature, Trees, Uncategorized, tagged Cardiff Bay, Nature, Spring, The Wharf, Trees on May 5, 2018| 2 Comments »
Alder leaves (Alnus glutinosa) against a backdrop of the silky waters of the Wharf
The catkins are dying away now and the leaves are sprouting on the shrubby waterside trees around the Wharf (old Bute East Dock) next to our office in Cardiff’s County Hall.
I went out for a walk at lunchtime on April 26 to take these pictures – and was pleased to find that my earlier identification of many of the species seems to have been correct. (more…)
The Squirrelbasket 