22nd April 2009 (Wednesday)
A longish walk along the River Avon, from central Bristol into the famous Gorge, turned up quite a few interesting finds this morning, both riverside aliens and local limestone specialities
Whether it's from seeds washed downstream or just stuff chucked over the edge, the banks of the Avon as it passes through Bristol city centre is home to a fascinating range of introduced species. The only problem is getting close enough to photograph them; a cyclepath/towpath runs all the way along the riverside into the Gorge, but there's no access to the bank itself unless you fancy a steep scramble
That's why my photo of the
Flag Irises (
Iris germanica) isn't great; from 50-plus feet away, through bushes and in poor light, it's the best I could do, but the display was well worth seeing, they've covered a good 10 - 12 feet of riverbank and are currently in full flower.
(
Flag Iris, Iris germanica)
I also made a diversion to have a look at some flowering trees I'd spotted on the opposite riverbank; one, an ornamental crab apple, I later identified as
Siebold's Crab Apple (
Malus sieboldii) and presumably it originated from bird-sown fruit. The other, a
Japanese Cherry (
Prunus serrulata) of the pink double-flowered cultivar I believe is called "Kanzan" (or, at least, a form very similar) was rather more surprising, because the books say it's sterile
Along the riverside towpath I stopped to have a look at the
Late Cotoneaster (
Cotoneaster lacteus) bushes which are extensively naturalised around here, together with
Hybrid Coralberry (
Symphoricarpus x chenaultii) making up the majority of the bushes along the old railway line. Heading into the Avon Gorge itself, the
Bristol Rock-cress (
Arabis scabra) plants were by now in seed, but another local speciality
Spring Cinquefoil (
Potentilla tabernaemontani) was just coming into flower and I was pleased to find a few on the limestone banks & along the edge of the towpath.
(
Spring Cinquefoil, Potentilla tabernaemontani)
From there I was faced with the steep climb up through the "Nightingale Valley" of Leigh Woods nature reserve (though it's been many years since any nightingales made their home here...
) and back across the Suspension Bridge towards home. Heading through the woods I again failed to find Green Hellebore, but
Toothwort (
Lathraea squamaria) was in flower and is always worth a photo
(
Toothwort, Lathraea squamaria)
Finally, on the Clifton side of the Gorge around the area known as the "Observatory",
Rosy Garlic (
Allium roseum) was just coming into bloom; judging from the number of buds I could spot in the grass, it ought to make a fine sight in a few weeks' time