I’d been growing carnivorous plants for a while with a few orchids kicking around as well (that bug hadn’t fully bitten yet) when I was walking in the Wye valley about a year ago. The weather had been very changeable with earlier rain but I was now walking in sunshine. All around me everything was lush and green with these vibrant splashes of colour and I started to wonder just what the hell everything was. I took a few pictures and was able to later identify a few things, which led me to further reading and buying copies of the Poland and Clement ‘Veg Key’ and the Rose, O’Reilly Wild flower Key.
At the start of 2017 I set out to use either of the keys to positively identify 50 plants and learn a bit about them, as well as their scientific name. So far I’m up to 45 so pretty happy with that. The rules were a bit arbitrary but basically plants had to be identified with a key and couldn’t include things I already knew (nettles for instance) or things I identified from pictures. I did get a bit lax on that last one in places….
So far I’ve discovered I hate trying to ID Umbellifers, my driveway supports a surprising number of plants and I’m able to find new species on my local patch of greenbelt every time I visit. The bug seems to have truly bitten and I now look out for species I recognise every time I’m out and about. I’m returning to the original site of my ‘epiphany’ this weekend, so who knows… maybe I’ll finish the 50. Of course there are still many more species so I wont be stopping there!