Wild flowers in Scotland

[TC]

I often think that we forget our own native plants in the search for something more exotic and foreign.  With the good weather in the last few weeks which allows us to get out and about, I have had a look round my own local woods and was pleasantly surprised at the profusion of flowers.  The spectacle of wild Bluebells and Garlic flowers in their tens of thousands is very impressive.  If you remember the pictures of Snowdrops I showed at Fullarton woods, these have now been replaced by Bluebells.  In the grounds of the Scottish Agricultural College at Auchencruive in Ayr, the spectacle was even more impressive - wall to wall Bluebells - to be replaced by huge drifts of Garlic flowers on the riverside walk.
A surprise I got was when I looked closely at a Horse Chestnut flower, previously I had thought that they were just white and had never looked any closer.  I got a surprise.  I am sure that if the had been found in the Himalayas and brought to the U.K. , people would have been raving about them !

[Anthony Darby]

Hi TC. Saw lots of all three on my to and from Milngavie (via Strathblane) today. Forgot my camera, but you more than made up for my forgetfulness.

[Lesley Cox]

If Mark were here instead of living it up in Prague, I'm sure he'd be getting a second dose of white fever. What species is the wild garlic please? Surely not A. triquetrum?

[TC]

I think that the botanical name is allium ursinum.  It is very effective against Vampires - I have never seen one round here.

[Anthony Darby]

Quit correct Tom, aka 'Ramsons' or 'Wild Garlic'.

[Carol Shaw]

or 'Ransoms' both appear if you do a google search 

[Anthony Darby]

Sometimes without the final 's' Carol.

[Hans J]

I think that the botanical name is allium ursinum.  It is very effective against Vampires - I have never seen one round here.

I can only WARNING everbody to plant All. ursinum to plant in the garden -it is a really bad weed -and I need a lot of time to figth it -until now I'm not the winner !!!

Hans

[Anthony Darby]

.......and really smelly too. Not for nothing is it called Wild Garlic.

[Hans J]

The only real good thing are rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) if they live in this woods and they have eaten a lot of this Allium - they are really good to eat !!!

[Thomas Huber]

I love wild garlic on bread or in salad - Mjammm!

[Lesley Cox]

I'm really tempted to plant some. We have a terrible problem with vampires here

[Armin]

TC, thank you for the beautiful pictures. Blue bells are quite rare around here.

[David Shaw]

I was down by the River Dullan today and found what looked like a yellow Water Avens. I have only seen reddish ones before. Is this Geum rivale or something different?

[Anthony Darby]

Could be Geum urbanum (Herb Bennet), or a hybrid between it and G. rivale?