If you have followed my posts by now you will know that I have a passion for hardy geraniums. This one is a gorgeous blue shade. I chose this angle for my shot to show the seed head. Do you see the shape? That’s how the plant earned it’s common name – Cranes’ bill geranium.

This one looks much like a garden variety, but the grass is perhaps the clue to where I found it – a meadow. The startling blue is a lovely contrast to the grass surrounding the plant. You can see why gardeners were keen to create a garden variety – Johnson’s Blue comes to mind. I love the quote from my copy of Familiar Wild Flowers: “Where it [meadow cranes bill] occurs it can scarcely fail to command attention… from the beautiful colour of its blossoms and large clumps of richly cut leaves.” It’s interesting that the guide mentions the leaves. One compliments the other. The book is rather old – perhaps it is a more old fashioned view, but one we should adopt – seeing beauty in the leaves of plants.

I love the next flower for its quirky appearance!  This is Self heal Prunella vulgaris.  The plant earned its common name as it has a long history of medicinal use,  traditionally the leaves are applied to wounds to promote healing.

http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/selfheal

Blue always seems to be the desirable colour when it comes to hybridising plants for the garden. While in the wild there are many…

It would be easy to walk by, the flower unseen, but I really enjoyed savouring each step through the meadow. It was an easy walk as a path had been cut through, at times it felt maze-like, surrounded by grasses & wild flowers – at one with nature. For me it was an amazing walk on the wild side, a true path of discovery. Artists could have a field day sitting, sketching, drawing these beautiful flowers. I am safer capturing the beauty on camera – it’s more accurate! But there is also something about taking time to craft a picture that encapsulates the moment.

Okay so this one isn’t blue, but it is gorgeous. I love the detail on the flowers. This has to be an orchid – right there in the meadow. Isn’t it beautiful?