Wild flowers in the garden.

Just a few of the many wild flowers in my garden. 

I have quite a big patch of Bugle by the steps going down the garden.  Noticed today that there are 2 lady's smock (cuckoo flower) growing in it. The one in the centre which is very pale pink but looks white here.  Had some a few years ago but they disappeared so a seed must have survived or been brought in by a bird or the wind.  Love to see these as they are the food for the larvae of the orange tip and green-veined white butterflies.  I like to grow wild flowers especially for the wildlife.  All these spring flowers provide nectar for the bees and other insects to feed on. You can also see primroses and dandelions in this patch.  Must admit though that the dandelions are a bit of a nuisance however colourful they look in the lawn.

I have several patches of stinging nettles like this one. They provide food for many caterpillars, including the Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell as well as many species of moths.

Ransoms or wild garlic. Spreads like crazy and seeded all in the lawn but the mower shifts it and it soon disappears when it finishes flowering, until the following spring that is.  Very pungent garlic smell when crushed

One of my favourites, the English bluebell.  Such a lovely  shade of blue and a lovely scent.  Looks better in a shady woodland, where it carpets the ground, but hopefully mine will spread eventually. 

Wild strawberries and forget-me-nots.   These also attract the insects and the birds eat the ripened fruit if i don't eat it first.  They are a bit sour though. 

 Lily of the valley.  These have spread a lot over the past few years but look so pretty

Cowslips are one of my favourites too. I bought this plant a few years ago and thought it would seed itself and spread but not done much yet.  

Wetland Walk

Lovely day so decided on a walk at Newport Wetlands.  Hadn't been for a long time and thought the spring flowers would be putting on a show.  Sadly I was a bit early for that. 

 The Wetlands was developed as a home for the birds who were displaced with the development of Cardiff Bay a few years ago.  As far as I can see nobody told the birds and I see very few there.   But I really do like walking there especially on a sunny day like today.  

 It is built next to Uskmouth power station so my photographs today are mainly of that as there were not many flowers to see.  It is a coal fired power station and here you can see the big pile of fuel waiting to be converted into electricity.  

It occupies quite a big area with several large buildings. 

As you can see there are a large number of big pylons. To carry the power to wherever it has to go. 

After walking past the power station the path join the Wales Coastal Path.  

The coastline here is the Severn Estuary and on  the opposite side of the estuary you can see the Somerset coast and the islands of Steep Holm and Flat Holm.  Difficult to see them here but if you click on the photo to enlarge it you will. 

 Across the water you can see the Somerset coast and also here the rubbish that has washed up with the tide. 

Don't know what this is but probably some old fencing that has been exposed as the water levels have changed over the years.

I did see a few flowers and butterflies. 

 Saw a big patch of lady's smock by the power station and several butterflies but none of them stayed still long enough for me to photograph them. I saw small tortoiseshell, red admiral, small white and peacock. Did manage to snap this small tortoiseshell on a dandelion. 

Coltsfoot seed heads

Don't know what this blossom is but it looks very pretty.

The East Usk Lighthouse looks out over the estuary.

View of the power station  from the bird hide at the end of the lagoon.

The path through the woods

In the distance there are 2 wind turbines, much cleaner electricity than that produced at the power station. In the foreground is the reserve's visitor centre.

If the birds do ever find their way here they shouldn't have any problem finding their way home again.

 I did eventually see some birds.  A family of coots in the pond by the visitor centre. There were 2 adults and 2 cootlets.  This is the best photo I could get with only 2 of them in it. 

This sculpture of bull rushes is near the entrance to the reserve.  Couldn't see any information about who made it. 

I checked a map when I got home and noted that I had walked 6 kilometers. No wonder I was tired!