‘The daisy is a happy flower, And comes at early spring, And brings with it the sunny hour, When bees are on the wing.’ – John Clare, “The Daisy”

A common sight across the UK, daisies are a delightful sign that spring has arrived and summer is on its way.

Each flower has a rosette of small, thin white petals surrounding a bright yellow centre. These are supported by a single stem which grows from a group of dark green rounded leaves. The petals can sometimes be tinged with pink.

Habitat

Short grassland and meadows.

Distribution

Very common. Found on grassy areas across the UK.

One of our most important meadow wild flowers.  It is hemi-parasitical on grasses and so weakens them, thereby giving other wild flowers a chance to compete and gradually establish themselves. A wildflower meadow hero!

How to spot it

An erect plant with longish stems without many leaves. When the yellow tubular flowers fade, the calyx behind them becomes a silvery sphere in which the seeds ripen – the rattle.

Where it grows

On nutrient-poor grasslands, including permanent pastures hay meadows and dunes. Also on roadsides and waste ground.

Best time to see

In flower from May to July

How’s it doing?

Yellow rattle underwent a marked decline in Britain throughout the 20th century, thought to be a result of changes in farming practices.

• How to grow Yellow Rattle

Known as ‘eggs and bacon’ because of the yellow and orange hue of the pea-like flowers, this is a food plant for several caterpillar species.

This is a low-creeping, perennial plant with clusters of deep, yellow flowers tinged with red. The leaves have five narrow oval leaflets and the lower two of these are bent back by the stem so that the leaves appear trefoil (3-lobed).

Although disagreeable to humans, Bird’s-foot-trefoil is an important source of food for other creatures. Pollinating insects find it a perfect source of nectar and it is used as a forage plant for livestock. The ‘Bird’s-foot’ of its name refers to the shape of its seed pods.

Where to find Bird’s-foot-trefoil

This is one of our most common meadow wild flowers and is found throughout the UK. It grows in meadows, roadsides and other grassland areas.

How’s it doing?

This wild flower is common through out the UK.

Also known as ‘Ramsons’, snowy clusters of this pungent wild flower are a common sight in woods in the spring.

If you don’t immediately see it, you can usually smell it – wild garlic has a strong oniony scent that becomes stronger if you crush the leaves. It is a favourite with foragers but be sure not to eat the roots: eating them can have an unpleasant effect on the stomach.

Distribution

Common across the UK apart from north-east Scotland.

Habitat

Damp woodland

Best time to see

When in bloom, April to June.

A low, creeping plant, germander speedwell spreads with thin stems that creep over the surface of the ground, forming distinct mats or patches amongst the grass or hedgerow.

Its small leaves are triangular in shape and deeply toothed.

The beautiful bright blue flowers – which can be a centimetre across and have a white eye – are carried on small spikes in the axils of the leaves. Note that if the flowers are not on spikes but each one comes directly from the leaf axils then you might be looking at slender speedwell, Veronica filiformis instead.

Distribution

Found throughout the UK, but rare on the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland.

Habitat

Generally grows in grassy places like meadows, pastures, verges and lawns, as well as in woods, hedgerows and waste ground.

Best time to see

When in flower, from March to July.

A pretty white wildflower also known as ‘Star-of-Bethlehem’ and ‘Wedding Cakes’, this star shaped spring flower is often found in hedgerows and verges. One of its local names is ‘popguns’ as its seeds fire off noisily when ripe.

How to spot it

White flowers, 20-30mm across, with five petals divided half way and twice as long as the sepals. Leaves narrow, with rough edges, stalkless, in pairs, each pair at right angles to the next. It also has a square stem. (National Plant Monitoring Scheme Species ID Guide)

Where it grows

Hedgerows and deciduous woodland.

Best time to see

April to June.

How’s it doing?

Stable.

Often known as ‘lady’s smock,’ the pretty lilac flowers open around the time the cuckoo starts to call.

The flowers are usually veined with darker violet but in some areas pure white forms can be found. It is an important food plant for the caterpillars of the orange-tip and the green-veined white butterfly. In his Flora Britannica, Richard Mabey shows how the first full blooming of the Cuckooflower is a remarkably accurate predictor of the first hearing of the bird itself.

Where to find Cuckooflower

This wild flower is commonly found throughout the UK. It grows wherever there is damp ground – wet grassland, damp meadows, pond margins and along the banks of streams. It is may also found on road verges and in ditches.

How’s it doing?

Cuckooflower is commonly found in its preferred habitats.

This wild flower’s deep blue flower spikes may be found carpeting damp glades and meadows.

An evergreen perennial, it spreads by means of long, leafy runners. Spikes of purplish-blue flowers grow to from dense mats of dark green leaves with purple highlights. It is sometimes confused with Selfheal, however on this plant the flowers are arranged more tightly at the top of the stem.

Where to find Bugle

In damp woods, hedge banks and meadows throughout the UK.

How’s it doing?

Bugle continues to be common in its preferred habitats.