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Church Gardens – June 2024

Now we are in June it’s all systems go in the garden. From planting out to painting etc there’s not enough hours in the day.


We’ve been privileged enough to be treated to some spectacular displays of the Northern Lights, an amazing sight of one of natures wonders.


Wildflowers are also providing a beautiful show and provide essential food for our pollinators. When you start to look into the background of their names its fascinating. Cuckoo flower blooms as cuckoos, or gowks, return to the UK. It is from the crucifer
family, 4 petals with a noticeable cross shape. Orange tip butterflies use it to feed on.


Any flower ending in wort ie ribwort was used medicinally. Ribwort has lance like shaped leaves with vertical lines down them that resemble ribs thus the name.


Lesser celandine was Wordsworths favourite flower and he wrote poems about it, one being The Lesser Celandine. (www.online-literature.com, the lesser celandine) In tribute to this the stonemason carved celandine on his gravestone, unfortunately it was the wrong species of celandine. So if you are visiting his grave have a wee look and see if you can find it. I’m sure Wordsworth would have forgiven him.

So next time you are enjoying a walk through the countryside or even along the pavements have a look and see what you can spot. Those flowers , or weeds as some folk would have them, have an interesting background and have a beauty all of their own.


You will also spot some in the eco garden which we don’t remove. Anything that can provide food and shelter for wildlife is very important.


I watched two wee sparrows hopping along eating the seed heads on dandelions. They came across some taller ones and couldn’t stretch up far enough to reach the seeds so one of them hopped onto the stem bringing it to ground level. I did have a wee chuckle to myself, they are so interesting to watch.


Dandelions are excellent for pollinators and birds. The head has about a hundred flowers providing lots of nectar and as just mentioned the birds love the seed heads.

Liz was saying to me that when in flower they are like the sun and when in seed like the moon, very apt description.