The Darling Buds of March

We’ve had a long cold winter and it’s raining, misty and downright bleak outside as I write this. But there have been bursts of sunshine here and there and when I can catch those moments I am out with my camera to see what I can find in the trees and the grass. The land is waking up. This video is a compilation of what I’ve seen in the last week, in my own garden and along the boreens around me.

The music is by the incomparable Liam O’Flynn: Joyce’s Tune, from his album The Given Note, used with permission.

Here’s what I saw – all native and all typical of our West Cork flora. Hazel trees produce both male catkins – easy to see –  and tiny red female flowers – very difficult to see and easy to overlook, but very pretty little pincushions when you see them.

Willow trees, on the other hand are either female or male and depend on wind and insect to pollinate one from the other. The male trees are the ones who produce the cute little pussy willows, which explode into yellow flower heads as they mature.

I only have a female tree, with its own distinctive catkin-like spiky flowers. Fortunately, as you’ll see in the video, when I was photographing it, it was visited by a Great Tit and a White-tailed Bumble Bee, all helping (along with the breezy weather) with the pollination.

The blackthorn trees are one of our true harbingers of spring – the flowers emerge before the leaves, looking bright and beautiful against the dark bark.

Some Staghorn moss is followed by two Dandelions and then some Lawn Daisies, Dandelions come early in West Cork and don’t last long – they are soon replaced by Cat’s-ear in my lawn. The daisies are a constant delight all summer long.

Another early spring wildflower is Common Dog-violet. This one really rewards getting up close. See my lead photo for this one. Finally, a couple of shots of Herb Robert emerging from a stone wall, followed by photos of Juniper Haircap Moss, which has established a little colony in the crevices of the rocks that line my driveway. The spore capsules sit atop tiny bright red stems. That’s my lead photo for this post, and the shot below.

21 thoughts

  3. Thank you Finola for a really beautiful film, an absolute tonic and antidote to all the nastiness going on around the world at the moment. Such a joy to see the Spring flowers arriving.

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  5. Hello Finola, gorgeous pics. I will be escorting a couple from Connecticut through West Cork next weekend and wondered if we might see any bluebells on our way from Kinsale to Drombeg. You posted some lovely photos a few years ago from ‘Long Strand’ (?) but we might be still to early to see them in bloom. Anywhere else along the way you might recommend? We are going on to loop the Sheep’s Head and finish in Sheen Falls

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    • Hello Pearse – way too early for bluebells. I’d recommend a stop at Knockdrum Fort and then down to Castletownshend ot see the stained glass in St Barrahane’s.

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  6. I’ve noted the return of seasonal plants on our walks but haven’t taken the camera to record them. Some day soon…maybe/maybe not! Nice to see your recordings!

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