Flowers

The woodland in Forge Valley, and many other valleys in this area, are carpeted with wild garlic in the spring. The crop this year seems to be more abundant than ever, perhaps due to all the rain we have had over the past few months. The picture shows only a very small part of the carpet. Beyond the fallen tree the gill becomes much more narrow, and deeper, with steep slopes ending in vertical rock walls of about 3 to 4 meters height. A footpath descends from the high ground at the top of the gill, allowing easy access from my home to this part of Forge Valley. (see PiP) **The Yorkshire dialect word Gill or ghyll, from the Old Norse, means small narrow valley or ravine. **Reference: www.viking.no/e/england/yorkshire_norse.htm

Yedmandale Road - West Ayton

Basking in spring sunshine on the cliff edge (184 m, 604 ft). Ravenscar North Yorkshire.

The flowers cover an area of approximately 7 to 8 square metres. They grow to a height of approximately 2 feet (60 cm). A typical grassland plant, the oxeye daisy thrives on roadside verges and waste ground, as well as in traditional hay meadows and along field margins, as is the case in the picture. Its large blooms appear from July to September and are so bright that they appear to 'glow' in the evening, hence the other common names of 'moon daisy' and 'moonpenny'.

Left - Perorate St. Johns-wort* Centre - Nipplewort Right - Birds Foot Trefoil Perhaps of interest: *Wort is a derivation of the word “wyrt,” an old English word meaning plant, root, or herb. The suffix wort was given to plants which were long considered beneficial. The opposite of a wort was a weed, such as ragweed, knotweed, or milkweed. Just like today, “weeds” referred to undesirable types of plants (though this isn’t always the case). Source www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/info/what-does-wort-mean.htm

Top left - Buttercup Top right - Yellow rattle Bottom left Forget-me-not Bottom right - Purple clover