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Municipal planting has been one of the facilities offered by Local Authorities in these straitened times to have fallen by the wayside. In the metaphorical sense this is not true of New Forest District Council. Last autumn seeds were sown by the side of the A337 and covered with a protective netting. They have now sprung into life.
This is the location of the nearest site to our home, no more than a mile away.
We have been waiting an opportune moment to photograph the most amazing display that is currently swaying in the breeze and buzzing with bees.
Having feasted our eyes on these floral delights, we drove on to Barton on Sea to have a look at Christchurch Bay.
The unstable cliffs sign is not new,
but it has perhaps moved inland a little more.
Only the gliding gulls can travel over the clifftop with equanimity.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s marvellous boeuf bourguignon with swede and potato mash and mange touts. The Culinary Queen drank Hoegaarden while I drank more of the Saint Emilion.
Happiest flowers on earth!
Thanks a lot, Leslie
What a forward thinking council you have Derrick, the display is absolutely stunning! The council here, the Dunedin City Council (named and shamed), still insists on sending out the man on his mini tractor who sprays any wildflower that dares show its head, so our road sides are mostly brown strips of dead flora – and the odd bit of dead fauna…..
I am curious, can the Head Gardener name all those flowers? (I’m expecting a “Yes!” Jackie)
Oh, I was going to say the same thing! Our roadsides are shorn bare – and the areas that the tractor can’t get to are sprayed with god knows what that turns them brown for a year.
You must live just down the road from me Jodirichelle! 🙂
Sad
Most of them – which is more than I can. Thanks very much, Pauline.
Nothing is as beautiful as wildflowers -at least in my opinion. It brings memories of my childhood, sitting in the grass, picking flowers, trying to have the largest “bucket” that would be the centerpiece of our kitchen table.
Lovely memories, Bridget. Thank you.
I love your wildflowers. We have some along the M65, but I wonder how far they are council sown and how far self-supporting. Texas prides itself, for good reason, for having a great wildflower display but I don’t think it would take much to get the whole of the UK looking like this.
Thanks very much, Susan. The suppliers offer discounts for bulk purchases which cover an amazing area., and come up year after year.
That does it. I’m moving to the UK.
🙂 Thanks a lot, Maggie
Those photos did me good before sunrise – I would eat that dinner for breakfast if you put it in front of me 🙂
Many thanks, Mary
So beautiful, Derrick!
Many thanks, Merril
stunning; some of our parks have patches like this and they are wonderful. PS I’ve sent you an email; hope you get it!
Thanks, Geoff. I’ll check e-mails next.
How absolutely brilliant. I wonder if, going back a few generations, if all the flowers are native to England.
Our roadsides in Aust are kept clear as much as possible to reduce the chance of fire during summer. Unfortunately GM Canola is becoming a bit of a weed and because it is glyphosate resistant it is hard to control.
Many thanks, Paol
Drowning in colorful flowers 👀
Many thanks, Sherry
Absolutely beautiful. I’d like just a few of these to liven up my garden but I do think they look best in a jumbled abundance. Great photos, Derrick!
A great phrase ‘jumbled abundance’, Jenny. Thanks very much.
Those flowers are WILD man!
Perfick, Bruce. Thanks a lot
I’ve always loved wildflowers. These colors are beautiful. If I were a bee, that’s where I’d be!
Such beautiful wildflower plantings along the road! I wish that was done here.
Many thanks, Lavinia
These are gorgeous. I always love it when I see someone has planted along the highway. I imagine these are mesmerizing.The photos are such a pleasure.
Very many thanks, Lisa.
They’re beautiful. such wonderful colors.
Amazing display. Thanks very much, Arlene
I am overwhelmed by the silent epic of the flowers by the roadside. It is comforting to find such sensitive councils on the Earth otherwise plagued with ruthless politics.
Isn’t it, just, Uma? Many thanks
Breathtaking scenery! You’re a painter with your camera.
Very many thanks, Rose
What wonderful flowers. We had pretty much the same thing occur quite naturally in the grounds of the City Hospital but they mowed it all down because it was thought to look untidy. Now it’s just grass and dog dirt.
What a shame, John. Thanks a lot
Great colours!
Thanks, Mike. We picked just the right time
The “New Forest Council”, should be congratulated, what a beautiful roadway of flowers. And again love the warmth in your photos, and I’ve stored “You, Derrick” in my gmail files…
Very many thanks, Ivor
Oh how be-yoo-ti-full !!! That roundabout sign gave me a nostalgic pang also. So English. We have just arrived in Adelaide after two days driving from Sydney. Around the mid-point, along the Riverina section towards Hay, we noticed a strange wildflower that looked like cotton. It looked like that, because it was! Turns out that some farmers (and I think some may be former rice growers) have turned to cotton. On the way to the gin, the round bales lose some of the cotton bolls to the wind displacement, and they line the roadside. How weird in an otherwise barren environment.
Be-yoo-ti-full in its own right, I expect. Thanks, Gwen
It looked like so many alpine flowers popping up hopeful heads.
That’s amazing! And your photos set it off beautifully–what a perfect mix of colors!
Thanks a lot, Kerry. We look forward to their coming up year after year
Absolutely amazing wild flowerbed!
Many thanks, Alexander. They are.
Oh the colors! Thank you for sharing these, and I hope you are feeling better
Thanks very much, Pleasant. A bit wobbly, but headache gone – that’s what does me in.
Beautiful wildflowers!
Thanks a lot, Julie
Gasp! Utter loveliness!
Thanks very much, Cynthia
Those roadside flowers are glorious. And your photos do them justice!
Many thanks, Brenda
Beautiful flowers!
Thanks very much, Anna
I only had to go back one post to find the sites and eats! I think wildflowers are one of my favourite sites because they are so varied and colourful. Little flecks of pink and purple and yellow, etc.
Boeuf bourguignon was one of my favourite dishes at culinary school.
Many thanks, Lydia
Oh so beautiful, Derrick!
Thanks very much, Amy
Best selection of wildflower planting I’ve ever seen, and very well photographed. I never quite seem to get it right when taking drifts of flowers like those.
Thanks a lot, Quercus. I’ve never seen anything like this before
Gorgeous photographs of the diverse wildflowers and how beautiful they are! The simple weeds and wildflowers I presented a few weeks back, unfortunately would have been, “put to shame!” 🙂
I used to laugh at my parents who threw packets of flower seeds down their lakeside cliff. How could they take root? The netting would have been a good idea, but somehow the flowers bloomed anyway. Probably lake water mixed with air moisture were able to help germinate those abundant seeds Mom and Dad sprinkled. 🌻🌻🌻
Many thanks, Robin. What a great idea of your parents. Here, suppliers sell the seeds by the kilo. Councils get a discount.
Enchanting roadside flower photos!
Thanks very much, Byung
Reblogged this on Annas Art – FärgaregårdsAnna and commented:
Oh I wish we had roadsides like this in my town, but we don’t. Comments disabled here. Please visit Derrick’s blog and leave comments over there /Anna
Very many thanks, Anna.
My pleasure 🙂
Beautiful flowers! And great photography.
Very many thanks, LL/PS
That is stunning we should really adopt that in the U.S. Thanks for sharing.
I’m pleased you liked it msw. Thanks a lot.