Coastal wanderings

On a recent pre Easter foray to the south coast around Falmouth and Swanpool the display of spring blossom was stunning.

Blackthorn

Starry, white, frothy flowers on bare brown and spiny twigs. It's usually the first thing to appear so is a real marker of spring - and this year seems to have been a bumper year! We're looking forward to the sloes in the autumn - we've run out of Sloe Gin! You shouldn't pick them until they've been frosted though, sometimes a bit of a problem down here in Cornwall were frosts are fairly rare. You can however, freeze them overnight before using them - same effect! 

But for now the blossom is enough, and there is plenty more to come.

Hawthorn

Similar five petalled flowers to the blackthorn but with rounder petals and pink stamens, and the leaves appear just before the flowers so the effect is much more lush and soft. Also known as May blossom, it was just starting to flower.

Then there's the Gorse.

Spiney, vicious, indestructible and covered in the sunniest, most uplifting flowers that fill the air with the essence of Hawaiian Tropic sun oil (SPF 2 I seem to remember, perfectly adequate in the 1970s!) - coconutty, summery heaven! The moment the sun hits it out come the flowers and they start pumping out fragrance, and it generally carries on flowering until October/November.

Looking beneath the hedgerows, the Three Cornered Leek or Allium triquetrum was beautiful in the sun with its cool, delicate, green striped petals and it's not so beautiful fragrance of onions/garlic...

and this was everywhere. Wild Parsnip, Cow Parsley...? It seemed too lime green for Cow Parsley to me but it was beautifully fresh and zingy. Please let me know if you can identify it, my knowledge of wild flowers is patchy and I'm trying to improve it - all help is welcome.

Then when we reached the gardens at Gylly Beach we were greeted by a display of the most amazing shrubby Echium candicans in full bloom, and alongside were the spires of Echium pininana soaring overhead full of promise for later in the spring when they flower. The bees were in heaven!

And all overlooking a glorious view.