Wharf wild plants in spring

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.

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Green leaves and red on the Wharf

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.

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Wharf wild plants in March

Strangely yellow Buddleia davidii leaves among stonecrop (possibly Sedum acre) beside the Wharf

I am thoroughly enjoying my lunchtime explorations of a new habitat this year – the Wharf (the old East Bute Dock) next to Cardiff’s County Hall in the Bay. As spring arrives there are so many little wild plants coming to life on the stone and concrete surfaces around the water, making do with whatever nutrients there are in hollows and cracks (or nooks and crannies, if you prefer the cliché). In some ways these little beauties remind me of those found in an alpine habitat.

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Catkins and pussy willows in March

Catkins of alder (Alnus glutinosa) on the Wharf – I love the way the water looks like silk

Several of my colleagues at work are suffering from hay fever at the moment, and I wonder if that is partly because of the pollen from alders and other catkin-producing trees around the Wharf (old Bute East Dock) next to our office in Cardiff’s County Hall.

I went out one lunchtime this week to take some pictures of the catkins and other early signs of spring. By the way, I expect you knew that the word catkin means “little cat” or kitten, because the inflorescence looks like a kitten’s tail.

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Wharf birds and bushes

Great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus) on the Wharf a few weeks ago

Here are some more images from my lunchtime walk around the Wharf (old Bute East Dock) alongside Cardiff County Hall. This time the focus is on the water birds and the waterside bushes.

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Wharf wild plants in February

Beautiful seeds of Buddleia on the edge of the Wharf in Cardiff Bay

I have now discovered that I can walk all the way around the old East Bute Dock that runs alongside my new workplace at Cardiff’s County Hall. And I now know what everyone calls this rectangular pool of water – the Wharf. I had been calling it the dock or the pond or the lake, none of which seemed to be accurate.

It takes me half an hour to walk all the way around – or an hour if I take my camera with me. Last week I spent my lunch-hour there and took more than 100 pictures. So I won’t dump them all on you at once. Firstly, and particularly for Lucy Corrander, I will focus on what would be “street plants” if this were a street. Some are totally wild and native, some are urban escapees.

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Sitting on the dock of the Bay

A general view of Cardiff Bay with the Water Tower fountain feature in front of the Wales Millennium Centre

One of the delights of working in Cardiff Bay is the proximity of so many wonderful sights to enjoy during the lunch-hour. For nearby is Mermaid Quay, at the heart of the “vibrant” development surrounding the 500-acre freshwater lake created by the building of the Cardiff Barrage, opened (or closed) in 1999 to impound the tidal waters of the rivers Taff and Ely.

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