They might be common but these members of the #DaisyFamily brightened my walks this week! From top left, Common Fleabane, garden escaped Michaelmas Daisies, Creeping Thistle, Ox-eye Daisy, Sneezewort and Common Yarrow, all looking pretty for #wildflowerhour.

The moths are very beautiful! warehouse1.indicia.org.uk/upload/12/92...

It’s a caterpillar, when it’s alarmed it rears its head and puffs it up, so it frightens off predators. 😀

I’ve been lucky to spot a few Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillars in the garden this year. Currently they are chomping away on the Bogbean 😀🐛 #TeamMoth

A few blooms spotted for #wildflowerhour this week on a lovely family holiday in beautiful Northumberland! #ByTheSea

Also #StillFlowering an enormous swathe of Common Fleabane in my local park. Such a cheery plant, its bright sun-shaped flowers are an absolute magnet for invertebrates! #Wildflowerhour 🌞

Despite the recent hot weather & drought conditions the Broad-leaved Helleborines in the woods at work have been looking spectacular! I’ve been in orchid heaven admiring them all! #Wildflowerhour #StillFlowering

It’s been a bit of a week with my son back in hospital so sadly not had much time for botanising but I did see these lovely #ClimbingPlants whilst walking my little hairy pal 🐾 Left, White Bryony, Bryonia dioica & right, Honeysuckle, Lonicera periclymenum for #WildflowerHour

It was nice to see the Broad-leaved Helleborines beginning to open in the woods at work today. Always love showing these lovely flowers to the children & explaining how they are pollinated, they were fascinated with them! 🥰 #wildflowerhour

After missing out last weekend, some orchid therapy was required. It was such a tonic to see lots of beautiful Marsh Helleborine & Marsh Fragrant Orchids emerging through a carpet of Seaside Centaury & Yellow-wort at this interesting ex-industrial site in Cheshire #wildflowerhour

At the start of the week my Forest School group spotted lots of Speckled Wood enjoying the Meadow Buttercups. It’s a good job I took a few photos because later in the week I came down with a horrible bug & spent all of this gorgeous weekend in bed! #Wildflowerhour #PollinatorPals

My local #ChurchyardFlowers were looking beautiful this afternoon, Ox-eye daisies, Meadow Crane’s-bill, Wild Strawberry, Tufted Vetch, Cat’s-Ear, naturalised hardy geraniums, to name a few, all supporting lots of inverts & just so much better than mown grass! #wildflowerhour 🥰

My son has just sent me an update on my garden Bee Orchid, just in time for #wildflowerhour! I can include this one for the #orchidchallenge as it arrived by itself, isn’t it gorgeous! 🥰

Posting my finds for this week’s #OrchidChallenge early as they don’t count for #Wildflowerhour because I’m in Normandy! Had a wonderful holiday & I’m so happy to see the Late Spider again, thought they might have been frazzled but luckily I managed to find one in the shade of a tree! 🥰

I couldn’t resist inspecting the ditches as we went round Batterie Longues-sur-Mer, Normandy, this morning. I was so excited to find this beautiful plant parasitising Yarrow which would hopefully make it the Yarrow Broomrape, Phelipanche purpurea, one I’ve been longing to see! 🥰

At points it was difficult to see which species of plant the broomrapes were parasitising as the whole area a thick mat of intertwining thyme and bird’s foot trefoil! Seemed to be a yellow form too.

First day touring around Normandy with husband on the Guzzi noticed records for Thyme & Slender Broomrape near to where we are staying. It was so hot, hoping I found both! Thinking left pics are O. alba & right O. gracilis but apparently gracilis is very variable………..! @christhorogood.bsky.social

When you don’t want to leave for a holiday because your garden Bee Orchid is about to flower! 🤪 My house-sitting son has promised me updates! 🥰 #wildflowerhour

Three years ago, a little orchid seedling appeared in one of my garden troughs, I thought it was a self-seeded Common Spotted but now it has its first proper flower spike, it has revealed itself to be a Southern Marsh Orchid 🥰 #wildflowerhour

The Bird’s-foot Trefoil, Lotus corniculatus was looking absolutely spectacular on my walk yesterday! It was impossible to take a photo without a bee! This plant supports 130 invertebrate species so for me it’s definitely worthy of best in show for this week’s #WildflowerShow #Wildflowerhour

I went in search of #tinyplants for #wildflowerhour this week & I wasn’t disappointed! 🔁 from top left the beautiful Changing Forget-me-not, each flower opening pale yellow & then gradually turning blue! Teeny pale pink Field Madder & the gorgeous vivid blue Early Forget-me-not! 💙

Seeing a plant you’ve not seen for a while is just like catching up with an old friend. So happy to see some gorgeous Fly Orchids this weekend too! Fascinating & enchanting in equal measure! 🥰 Ophrys insectifera #Wildflowerhour

What do you get when you cross a Fly Orchid with a Bee Orchid? This little cutie, that’s what! 😍 So excited to see the Fly x Bee hybrid this weekend! #Wildflowerhour

The warm weather has brought out a glorious profusion of wild roses for #wildflowerhour! 🔁 From top left Burnet Rose, Dog Rose, Welsh Poppy & for the #ButtercupChallenge, at Pickering’s Pasture, a meadow full of beautiful Bulbous Buttercups showing off their reflexed sepals!

Woohoo! So happy to see my first orchids of the year yesterday. Beautiful Green-winged orchids, Anacamptis morio and with stunning views too! #wildflowerhour

Isn’t Bogbean just glorious! 🤩 Menyanthes trifoliata looking beautiful for #wildflowerhour

Lovely day visiting my daughter in Leeds & was interesting to see what’s flowering in her local area. From top left Bogbean, Apple blossom, Greater Stitchwort, Hawthorn & Cowslips. Swathes of Honesty, Garlic Mustard & Cuckooflower for this week’s #CabbageChallenge #wildflowerhour

The walk back from Hob Hey Wood, follows an ancient holloway, once part of the salt route & bound with gnarled Oaks. Weaving through the hedgerows more wildflowers were emerging Red Campion, Garlic Mustard, Shining Cranesbill, Wood Forget-me-not & Ground Ivy. #wildflowerhour

Scarce in Cheshire, this tiny fragment of ancient woodland survives in a steeply sided clough. Yesterday for #wildflowerhour it was looking glorious with carpets of Bluebells, Wood Anemones & Greater Stitchwort also combining so beautifully with the Bluebells!💙🤍 #woodlandplants

I dodged the showers yesterday to visit my favourite, Wood Sorrel, Oxalis acetosella. Tucked in amongst the Bluebells & Wood Anemones in a tiny fragment of Cheshire ancient woodland. It was such a joy to see them! 🥰 #wildflowerhour #woodlandplants