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balcony

By Balcony

Cambs, United Kingdom

This appears to be a "wild flower", i.e., one not planted by the council gardeners. The flowers remind me a bit of Wallflowers although their growth habit is different. I can't remember having seen this flower before which prompted me to take a couple of photos.




Answers

 

Cardamine pratensis aka Lady's Smock or Cuckoo Flower.

25 May, 2021

 

Once again, thank you very much, Owdboggy! Now that I know this is Cardamine pratensis (Cuckoo flower, Lady's smock) I can look out for it.

25 May, 2021

 

It is a food plant for orange tip butterflies. The female [minus orange tips on its wings] lays her eggs on these and many other native flowers.

25 May, 2021

 

Thanks, Eileen, but I don't remember ever having seen an Orange Tip butterfly here. I've seen plenty of Cabbage butterflies (both species), lots of Peacocks, many Tortoiseshells + a few I can't identify, like a small blue one.

27 May, 2021

 

Round here they seem to like living in damp meadows if that's any help. (the flowers not the orange tips...)I found a very small one on the lawn today - not sure what that says about the lawn...

27 May, 2021

 

"I found a very small one on the lawn today - not sure what that says about the lawn..."

Perhaps it needs extra drainage? Holes made with a garden fork are supposed to help aerate the lawn. Especially if then filled with sharp sand. If it's only a small area perhaps that might help but if it's a big area then that would be too much.

28 May, 2021

 

Thanks Balcony! Very good advice - it certainly is time the lawn was spiked and scarified - the Spring here has been so appallingly wet everywhere that I think most lawns here would qualify as damp meadows... But to tell you the truth I was thrilled to find the cuckoo flower (loved those since I was very small) and also a few little self seeded ragged robins, which I'm going to try to transplant to the edge of the pond where one appeared last year.. Even though they are only about three or four inches high they were trying to flower! OH carefully mowed round them for me.... Do you think I'm past redemption?

28 May, 2021

 

Would it be too much of an inconvenience to leave things as they are at present & just let the grass grow long so that wild flowers can grow naturally? It's becoming a bit of a trend not to cut lawns back so much & there's even a 'No Mow May' where the grass is left to grow without being cut during the month of May.

29 May, 2021

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