I was delighted to see that this gorgeous anemone specimen merited a place in The Times Nature Notes today. Close to home I have been watching it gradually bud and bloom in St Germain-en-Laye forest over the last couple of weeks. An incredibly pretty sight in this otherwise imposing woodland setting. At the moment they carpet the forest floor like clusters of little bright lights looking really quite magical.
Growing alongside the wood anemones is the more showy lesser celandine, bursting with mounds of bright yellow, starry blooms and lifting the gloom on a dull dark walk through the forest. It seems to have been in flower for a few weeks longer than the anemones and I’ve also spotted lots of it growing equally happily along the river bank. It’s amazing what beauty there is sprouting at our feet. Obviously they haven’t just chosen to pop up this year to dazzle but perhaps I just haven’t noticed them before or have been too busy or preoccupied pre-covid to really see. Daily I am amazed by the variety and volume of wild flowers just filling the fields and countryside.
