Daily Walk in Difficult Times 45

Something delicate and pretty today. Someone in the village told me they had seen this flower but did not know what it was. So I walked in a different direction from my normal daily routes in order to find a few of the plants in question. It was early on a sunny warm morning and it felt good to be out. I eventually located them on the verge beneath a hedgerow lining a short stretch of unpaved lane by the allotments. I can’t remember the last time I was up there.

There was a small cluster of about half a dozen plants of Lady’s Smock (Cardamine pratensis) nestled among the luxuriant foliage with their flower heads poised on slender stalks.  I have encountered these before. When seen from a distance in bright light, the elegant flowers can look white but, when you are near, their subtle pink or lilac colouring is apparent. Really quite beautiful. They are also known as Cuckooflowers which is apt as the characteristic sound of the cuckoo has been around in that area over the last week or so. I heard it when I was last in orchard.

N.B. Just been told these are not Lady’s-smock. Oops! Sorry. Now I have to find out what they are.

N.B. 2 Well, had another look now. I think these could be Rosy garlic (Allium roseum). Originally from the Mediterranean and in gardens but naturalised after introduction and known in the wild since the 1830’s.