Take a walk on the wild (flower) side

MAY is the month for wildflowers.

Dozens of species are in bloom now, adding interest to every walk.

The purple carpet of bluebells in the dark woods where they are still in flower; the dog violets among the ivy on the forest edges; the blue, smoky haze of germander speedwell when it forms a mantle of flowers on a roadside ditch. The bluebells of the deep woods are the darker than those in open woodland, the pigment richer, perhaps because of lack of light.