Anglesey Wild Flower Meadow: July 2012

HELLO

Welcome to the blog of my Wild Flower Meadow for 2015.

A bit late starting this year due to nasty persistent virus that was so difficult to eradicate.

Sadly this may be the last year I may be keeping a blog for my meadow . The house and acre of land will be going on the market in the not too distant future . The new owners may put the land back to grazing or development who knows .

I sincerely hope not.

I hope it will be as loved and nurtured as It has been since I started it in 2006

In the mean time I will endeavour to keep the blog up to date with lots of pictures showing how the plants and wildlife play out in 2015 .I hope you enjoy viewing it as much as I do producing it.

Please pop back from time to time to see the new additions and feel free to add any comments

Thursday, 26 July 2012

More flowers for July

Although the awful rainy windy weather continues with only an odd sunny day here and there the Meadow flowers continue flowering.. Admittedly all the flowers are a lot taller than usual ladies bedstraw for example is about 4 feet tall where as in a dry summer it would be 12 to 15 inches high.likewise the grasses .With the excessive rain the grass is starting to flatten with the weight of the water.This means the overall view of the meadow is not as nice as usual

Greater knapweed
Centaurea scabiosa
2012m167

Hairy willow herb
Epilobium hirsutum
2012m169

Himalayan Balsam
Impatiens glandulifera
2012m170

Ladies Bedstraw
Galium verum
2012m164

Lesser knapweed
Centaurea nigra
2012 m167

Ragwort
Senecio jacobaea
2012m168

St Johns Wort
Hypericum perforatum
2012m166

Amazing Comfrey oil

In an earlier post I promised to show how I made comfrey oil . Although not strictly a post about the meadow I do grow wild plants there that I use for medicinal purposes for myself and my family, also cosmetic creams and soaps to use in my own home.

Comfrey is my favorite of all and it is used in great quantities

Comfrey ready for harvesting

Pick a large armful

Remove leaves from stem

Roughly chop

Put into slow cooker
and press down

Add a litre of good olive oil

Cover and simmer for 48 hours

Strain in sieve and leave
for 24 hours to ensure all
of the available oil is extracted.
. Then bottle.

1) I keep it handy in the kitchen as it used regularly by my grand daughters as while playing on their roller skates and skate boards they are always coming in with grazes from falls. Something in the comfrey stops the stinging immediately as well as helping with the healing. I have used it on them since they were babies and they know well what relief it brings.

2) Comfrey oil on a knock that would bruise, if applied immediately the blue will disappear and not be as painful.

3) Comfrey is amazing for cramp in the legs ,I often wake in the night with cramp in my calf .If I rub on some comfrey and the cramp eases in about 30 seconds

4) Likewise with pulled muscles and sprains

5) It is also good for rheumatic pain and will quickly ease the pain when rubbed into the spot. It wont make the pain stay away forever but you can always apply more

6) As with all good things there is always a down side with my Comfrey oil it’s the colour, green skin and also green bedding It will wash out and I think its well worth the trouble. The darker the oil the stronger the mix and efficacious it is

Friday, 13 July 2012

A July wild flower update

A lovely bright sunny day a chance to cut the grass.Sadly although I was cutting for about 3/4 of an hour I didn't see ONE butterfly or moth even the bumble bees are in short supply .I don't think I have ever seen such small ones I have only seen 3 butterflies in 2012.

Meadow Sweet
Spiraea ulmaria
2012m159

Common Chicory
Cichorium intybus
2012m163

Evening Primrose
Oenothera glazioviana
2012 m158

Hedge Bedstraw
Galium mollugo
2012161

Petty Spurge
Euphorbia peplus
2012 m162

Sneezewort
Achillea ptarmica
2012m160

Sunday, 8 July 2012

Searching for orchids

This was my favourite last year . This year it was more difficult to find due to the very wet weather the grass is higher and thicker .Thankfully I found just one slug eaten specimen. At least its still hanging on by the skin of its teeth. Perhaps there will be more next year