Springtime In Poole Park

At Holme For Gardens, in Wareham, all sorts of flowers are starting to pop up in the borders of the formal gardens: irises, hyacinths, crocuses, snowdrops, hellebores, heather and a lot more.

Fields at Holmebridge and East Holme, near Wareham, have been transformed into lakes as the River Frome overflows its banks.

I was driving home after photographing autumn colours in Dorset woodland, when I spotted a red poppy field. It’s mid-November, so this is an amazing find.

The visual spectacle of Dorset opium poppy fields, with mesmerising hues ranging from white to very pale pink, is an annual part of the county’s rural landscape.

Between Eype and Lyme Regis lies Westhay Farm, on the Golden Cap Estate. In the care of the National Trust, this area is managed via an organic tenancy agreement.

This year I was lucky enough to find several lovely Dorset bluebell woods. In previous years, for one reason or another, I’ve missed ‘bluebell season’. 2023 has certainly been a great year for bluebells.

2023 doesn’t seem to be a good year for wild-growing pasqueflowers. At Therfield Heath, in Hertfordshire, compared to last year there are barely any flowers at all. That’s the thing though, a good year is often followed by a bad year. At Martin Down NNR there was one magnificent specimen though, growing all on its own.

Not far from Newbury, in Berkshire, is a 3-hectare meadow that hosts Britain’s largest display of wild crocuses. This is ‘Inkpen Crocus Field’, which explodes in colour each spring with an estimated 400,000 purple and white flowers.

Marsh gentians thrive in areas of wet, acid heathland or grassland. Nationally rare, this beautiful plant is on the decline.

Wareham Forest’s carnivorous, purple pitcher plants were reported to have been introduced to the area in the 1980s. Despite their exotic appearance, they are non-native and highly invasive.