A good friend of mine is coming to visit in April and so I'm trying to plan some fun outings around the island for us. One of the ideas I have is to take some walks to local landmarks such as the "Real" Fairy Bridge and perhaps to one of the ancient wishing wells which are peppered across the island. In spring the glens on the Isle of Man are filled with the vivid colour and scent of wild bluebells and I truly hope we have some sunny days so we can be outdoors to enjoy them.
I don't know about you but while I'm traipsing around the countryside I like to look at the plants and flowers that I pass by and try to identify as many as I can. As well as edible greens, I also tend to pick anything interesting and unfamiliar to take home and identify. Now with my work on building a wildflower meadow at the allotment I'm even more interested in learning the names of our own local wildflowers. And with my friend being a biology teacher, I thought that maybe I could put together a little identification exercise for when we're out on our little scenic adventures.
While I haven't been able to find a comprehensive guide to Manx wildflowers I have come across a document which lists our local varieties out in plain text. Using it as a reference, I searched online for pictures of the listed flowers in order to compile some visuals. I've also added a few varieties of flowers you see growing wild but which aren't considered native, such as Fuschia and Bergenia.
The pictures in the below post aren't all the images I've collected so far and are certainly not representational of all wildflowers on the Isle of Man. But they're a good start and I thought I'd share them for anyone interested in trying to identify flowers themselves. I'll follow this post up in some time with even more but hope this will give anyone interested in local Manx flora a good place to start.
If you have any specific questions on Manx wildflowers, I urge you to get in contact with Andree Dubbeldam who runs the Wildflowers of Mann project. He's our local expert and will be able to give you much more information than I'm able to. And if you're interested, he also offers volunteer opportunities to help out in his work in Manx wildflower conservation.
Happy flower hunting :)
Such great flowers. I think you need to write the guide! Lucky friend!
ReplyDeleteThanks Heather...I think I'll leave that to the experts ;)
DeleteLovely pictures - I hope at least some of the wildflowers are out when your friend comes in April Tanya. Thanks for the tip on young nettles - I shall try it.
ReplyDeleteThe bluebells will definitely be out and a few of the earlier flowers but definitely not all. It will be fun trying to spot which ones are out though :)
DeleteI spent a lot of time last spring identifying wild flowers around Glen Maye. It was quite difficult with the book that I had, a local identification book would be very useful. Wild Garlic is king at the moment, when the Sun starts getting stronger the smell from them is quite something.
ReplyDeleteI've got a huge patch of wild garlic near me too - I tried it last year as a pesto and it was delicious. I may have found the recipe online via River Cottage?
DeleteI'll keep my fingers crossed that you have some good weather in April so you can get out and about with your friend. It'll be very handy to have a list of wildflowers so that you're able to identify anything you come across more easily.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jo...I hope it will be something my friend will enjoy. If not, we'll toss the guide and head for the first pub ;)
DeleteI like the bridge, it looks to be really old and still in good shape.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty isn't it? I'm sure it's around a couple of hundred years old, give or take.
DeleteIt might make a good painting if the light was right.
DeleteIt's lovely to see such clear photo's of wildflowers, books so often disappoint me on this score. Thank you! Oh! And say Hello to the Faeries for me - it's been a long time! ;)
ReplyDeleteI regularly say hello to the faeries just to keep good luck on my side - I'll pop in an extra hello for you next time I pass the bridge Mo :)
DeleteI used to live in the I.O.M. as a child and used to cycle miles seeing many wild flowers on the way. Yours are the first good pictures I've found of Manx wild flowers. So many sites put pictures but no names. So was a real pleasure to find yours.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jacquey and I'm glad I was able to remind you of your childhood :) There is a Manx wildflower book I've heard of recently but I'm not sure it's a pictographic guide or not. This lack of real pictures is one of the reasons I thought to put a mini guide together...I'll try to follow it up with even more this summer :)
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