The weather was perfect for a leisurely walk around Stocker’s Lake to identify wildflowers.  There were 13 of us in total.   Janet Lowndes identified the wildflowers.  Chris Bessant joined us on the walk and also shared her knowledge of wildflowers.  

After such a cold and wet winter and then a very hot June we were not expecting to see so many wildflowers.  We perhaps didn’t see as many as in previous years but we were pleasantly surprised with our total of 81. A full list can be viewed or downloaded from here.

Doves foot cranesbill

Yarrow

One big disappointment was that the broad leaved helleborine (4 plants in total), a rare find around Stocker’s Lake and which had been coming into flower earlier in the week, had been strimmed along with the grass in that area and the two larger plants had lost their flowering heads.  FoSL, together with HMWT will work hard to protect this orchid from further damage.

On a brighter note, growing in the shallow waters of the River Colne, we identified Blue Water-speedwell for the first time.  We also noted that Dittander (broad leaved pepper wort) a scarce wildflower found mainly in SE England and East Anglia was seen in a number of places around Stocker’s Lake.

The two photos included in this report were both taken by me during this walk.

Linda Ascroft