© Phil Pickin
With the hours of daylight lengthening and the weather turning just that little bit warmer it can only mean one thing, spring is on it’s way, and theres nothing quite like spring flowers to underline that fact. A mysterious biological alarm clock has gone off waking the natural world from its winter sleep and these three flowers, in particular, are synonymous with answering the wakeup call.Snowdrops are sometimes the first to appear in gardens and in deciduous woodland but you can occasionally find them in coniferous woods too. Although they are seen just about everywhere they look at their best when carpeting a woodland walk, and with many snowdrop walks on offer across the country there should be one near you. The snowdrop isn’t a native plant to the UK and despite their delicate appearance snowdrops are poisonous to humans, but having said that they do have some medicinal properties, these include the treatment of dementia and some painkillers. These, as with many plants, are derived from compounds found in the bulb.Another plant that signals that spring is on it’s way the primrose, and I can vouch for that fact myself as a clump of these bright yellow flowers has appeared in my garden. Despite many people thinking that the snowdrop flowers first it’s sometimes the primrose that flowers as early as late December. This is in keeping with its name which comes from ‘prima rosa’ or ‘first rose’. In the wild they can be found in woodland clearings and in hedgerows as well as open grassland. Although a native plant to the UK it is in decline in some areas. It’s thought that this could be due to habitat loss due to the maintenance of woodland etc, and with primroses liking damp conditions they may not tolerate global warming. The result could be having an impact on their numbers.Later in the season we see what has to be one of the most striking and spectacular displays, that of carpets of bluebells. Once again a woodland, grassland and hedgerow plant that provides us with spectacular displays in April and May. Sadly this plant too is threatened due to habitat loss and cross breading with the Spanish bluebell. Collecting too impacts on numbers with people picking the flowers to take home or even digging up the bulbs. Since 1998 it has been illegal to do this and sell on the bulbs to garden centres etc, in an effort to halt the decline. Despite this the UK is home to around half of the world’s bluebells. It seems that our ancestors found them particularly useful (or at least their sap) as a glue. However the sap from this plant too is poisonous and can cause dermatitis when in contact with the skin.The flowers of the bluebell are a great source of nectar early in the season but to get to it bees bite a hole in the bottom of the bell. Although the bees benefit the plant does not as the pollen isn’t deposited onto the bees meaning the flower isn’t pollinated.With the weather slowly improving and with it an increased opportunity to get out and about keep an eye open for these plants, and others, who’s flowers help to brighten our countryside and feed early insects. Regardless whether you see them growing wild or in more structured woodland walks, enjoy them. The blog post was first published on the Ramblers Association's website within the wildlife section.
