Caldecote Old Rectory Spring Garden

 An absolute delight to photograph some of the flowers in the old Rectory garden adjacent to the Church with its mix of wild, naturalised and planted species all looking wonderful in the sunlight this morning. The footpath from Caledecote to Toft runs through this meadow but I am delighted that as usual the owners are opening the whole garden in aid of the Church on the 17th and 18th May 2025 with teas etc. Put that date in the diary - by then the herbaceous borders etc will also be in bloom.

Madingley Hall Gardens

There are plenty of spring flowers already in flower at Madingley Hall Gardens including the snowdrops and the great collection of Hellebores. Unfortunately the woodland walk, which is a mass of snowdrops, is closed at the moment as there is tree surgery being done. Hopefully they will reopen in a couple of weeks and the snowdops will still be in flower.

Flowers at Madingley Hall

We took a walk around Madingley Hall Gardens yesterday - the frost had gone but it was still chilly. However, lots of flowers are already in bloom. Some of these are expected like the Flowering cherry and Wych Hazel. Other species in bloom were Snowflake, Spurge Laurel, Snowflake, Mahonia, Garrya, Berberis, Hellebore, Jasmine, Iris, Aubretia, Aconite, Green Hellebore, Primrose and Strawberry

Stinking Hellebore and Garden Birds

I was really pleased to find a colony of Stinking Hellebore, Helleborus foetidus, on the old railway embankment in Toft. This is a short-lived perennial herb of shallow calcareous soils. It is a poor competitor, and intolerant of deep shade, so is usually found in small colonies in woodland glades or open scrub, on scree slopes, rock ledges, hedgebanks etc. There are other plants of the species around Toft but I have not found new colonies before. 

With the cold weather, our garden is hosting lots of Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Blue Tits feeding on the old seedheads and the provided sunflower seeds.

Orchids, Moths etc at Buxton Heath

Buxton Heath outing was one of the highlights of this year for me with its wide variety of specialized heathland species many of which we managed to see. Here the Marsh Helleborine with its abundant  population of small insects, Southern Marsh Orchids, Beautiful Yellow Underwing caterpillar, Fox Moth caterpillar and Rusty Tussock moth flightless female egg laying. Final three Hoverfly Eristalinus sepulchre, Five-spot Burnet and the Bog Cricket