David

Some garden flowers to start today. Fuchsias remind me of the warmer climate of Devon and Cornwall, so they have seemed incongruous this summer.

A bracket fungus. This was a decidedly mature specimen, growing on an abbreviated tree stump.

A plant which prefers wet conditions, growing even in shallow water. These were pictured after heavy overnight rain, and still had a few drops of water hanging down.

Another garden flower which grabbed my attention.

Sometimes called a “Penny Bun”, this mushroom can be found at any time from summer through to early winter.

The large seed case of a cultivated variety, spotted in a front garden.

Used to make a herbal tea, and also claimed to have a wide range of beneficial properties by herbalists.

These are the cultivated variety of hawkbit, pictured early in the morning before they opened up.

The cold wet weather this summer has been bad for a lot of plants as well as animals. But some meadow flowers seem to have thrived. One such is yellow rattle. There has been a fine crop alongside clovers and grasses in the Barley Field in the Smestow Valley LNR.

The “rattle” part of the name comes from the seed-bearing stage later in the year. The actual seeds are held loosely in seed cases. As they ripen, the plant can be shaken to make a noise like a baby’s rattle.

Almost a month ago, flowers at all stages on a blackberry bush. Some were just coming into bud. Others had already been fertilized, and the fruit were on the first stage of ripening – there is one just peeping into the bottom of the frame in the picture below.

The pictures were taken early in the morning on a dull day.