This is the second year we’ve searched the meadow for plants in flower on New Year’s Day, but this year the weather was much kinder to us! In glorious sunshine we set out with ID books, hand lenses and plenty of enthusiasm to see what was we might find in flower.
Since the meadow has be partially underwater for most of December and this autumn the field margins had a trim, I wasn’t very optimistic that we would match our species count for last year, and though there were a few notable absentees (red clover and lesser celandine, to name two) I was happy to be proved wrong.
Here are a few of our fifteen finds:
Hazel flowers, female and male. 
Black mustard. 
Guernsey fleabane. 
Hogweed. 
Common field speedwell.
With many thanks to everyone who came along to search (and an extra thank you to botanist Simon for lending his expertise), hopefully the weather will be as kind to us next year.
If you’re interested in all the results, you can see who found what and where on the BSBI‘s interactive map.
If you missed the New Year Plant Hunt but still want to get involved in some flower hunting, follow Wildflower Hour on twitter and give #theWinter10 challenge a go. Or if you know some smaller people who might be interested in some botany head over to Herbology Hunt, download the January spotter sheet and get hunting. And don’t forget to let us know what you find on the meadow!
-Best botanical wishes for the new year, Hester.
