It seems to have become customary on this blog for me to share a round-up of the year’s highlights, discoveries and magical moments. As 2023 draws to close, and before the obligatory New Year’s fizz gets opened, why stop now?
Before we get going, however, a huge thank you to the friends, local naturalists and complete strangers who have helped make 2023 such a fantastic year. If you have shared a tip, nugget of wisdom, location, or have spent an afternoon rummaging around in shrubbery with me, this means you!
Lindisfarne
I’ve always loved Lindisfarne. Largely for the plants, of course, but also for its remoteness, landscape, beauty and fascinating history. This year, I have been blessed to spend more time than ever before on the island and have enjoyed some truly delightful sights. From early-summer botanisting and treasures in Seaside Centaury (Centaurium littorale) and Lindisfarne Helleborine (Epipactis sancta) to hunting Frog Orchids (Dactylorhiza viridis) later in the season, it has been a real treat.
A high for me had to be finding Parsley Water-dropwort (Oenanthe lachenalii), a new plant for me, that had remained unrecorded on the island for a few years but being marooned in a spectacular lightening storm comes a close second. What a place!
Upper Teesdale
Like Lindisfarne, Upper Teesdale is one of those places I simply adore. Thanks to some lovely trips with work, and a few jaunts with friends, this year I’ve been able visit five times throughout the season enjoying all the wonderful plants you might expect. Spring Gentian (Gentiana verna) and Bird’s-eye Primrose (Primula farinosa) aside, it was great to finally see wild Shrubby Cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa) and Rock Whitebeam (Sorbus rupicola), both of which had eluded me on previous visits. This year, it was also nice to be joined by some seasoned entomologists for a closer look at Teesdale’s bees. The sight of quite literally thousands of Ashy Mining Bees (Andrena cineraria) was a delight for sure!
Hen Hole
Hen Hole is one of the most remote spots in Northumberland – the reason I had been unable to visit this scenic part of the College Valley until 2023. With some careful planning and lots of patience on Matt’s part, this year I finally ticked this off the botanical ‘bucket list’ making the long walk up the gorge to see what could be found. In short, we had an incredible day. The scenery was superb but the plants were even more exciting. In a few hours, we found several of the hole’s specialities including Alpine Willowherb (Epilobium anagallidifolium), Pale Forget-me-not (Myosotis stolonifera), Starry Saxifrage (Micranthes stellaris) and lots of Parsley-fern (Cryptogramma crispa). I am definitely excited to organise a return visit to 2024.
For those interested, a more complete write-up can be found here.
Surveying our Urban Flora
It is no secret that much of my time this year has been occuipied surveying Newcastle’s urban flora – i’ve written about it here and here. Since beginning work on ‘The Plants of Newcastle’ almost all of my free time has been spent exploring alleys, car parks, pavements, walls and a host of other man-made habitats to record what grows there. It has been great fun and already, has turned up an outstanding 830 species within the city limits, including a dozen or so county firsts. It really is amazing what can be found growing in our urban spaces…
The recording phase will take a while yet (we have to be thorough now, don’t we) but I have now at least begun to put pen to paper. 30,000 words later, I am now more optimistic that I’ll be able to publish a physical book in due course. Do bear with me!
Rare Plant Registering
As a new BSBI Vice-County Recorder, this year, much of my time has been spend aquainting myself with some of North Northumberlands rarer plants. Particularly those that have gone un-recorded for a short while. This year, I have tried where I can to fit in expeditions to search for some of these treasures. I have already mentioned Lindisfarne and Hen Hole, but other highlights include Rustyback (Asplenium ceterach) at a rural train station and of course, an encounter with Lady Clermont’s Spleenwort (Asplenium x Clermontiae). Others include Annual Knawel (Scleranthus annuus), Sea Spleenwort (Asplenium marinum) and Spring Squill (Scilla verna).
In South Northumberland, it was particularly exciting to rediscover a population of Sea Bindweed (Calystegia soldanella) that was thought lost. This is a terribly rare plant locally and so its remergence is definitely something to celebrate.
So Many Events and Courses
Working for the Natural History Society of Northumbria, this year, I’ve been lucky enough to spend an increasing amount of time out and about across the North East. Guided walks, bioblitzes, identification sessions and more, there have been so wonderful opportunities. For me, a highlight has to be creating and delivering several new, rather lengthy, botany courses.
Now, anyone who knows me will know that I am not a natural public speaker, nor particularly good at explaining things, so for me it has been wonderful to see these to fruition and extra great to hear that attendees enjoyed themselves. I definitely feel like my confidence is growing in this regard and look forward to delivering even more this year.
A huge thank you to everyone who has joined me on these, it means so much, and is one of the main reasons I love my job so much.
Discovering New Places
While getting out and about on the aformentioned trips, it has been wonderful to spend time at a host of new sites – places which that for one reason or another, I hadn’t explored previously. There really are too many to count in this regard but for me, Scotch Gill Wood in Morpeth is a standout. I seem to have spent a disproportionate amount of time here in 2023 enjoying Goldilocks Buttercup (Ranunculus auricomus), Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem (Gagea lutea), Rough Horsetail (Equisetum hyemale) and a plethora of other treasures. Other new favourites include Cullernose Point, near Craster, and of all places, Scotswood Road in Newcastle where much to my surprise, visitors can find a whole host of interesting plants and insects. I suspect you’ll be reading lots more about these in 2024…
Exploring Cotoneasters
Including a complicated group of (at times) invasive plants in a round-up of the year’s highlights seems an odd thing to do but alas, here we are. I seem to have fallen down the rabbit hole when it comes to these tricky shrubs in 2023 – wrapping my head around identifying them, recording them everywhere I go, and *trying* to share some of this learning with others. This year, there have also been workshops, trips to distant botanical gardens to scrutinise rarer species and even some garden redesigning to accomodate a living library of reference plants.
Some of you reading this might think me a little mad but this is an interesting and increasingly familiar group of plants. I am quite enjoying learning more about them!
And thats about that really. Despite an ever-decreasing amount of free time, 2023 has been another exciting year. Continued learning and new opportunities aside, it has been wonderful to spend so much time exploring the natural history of our region, often in great company. I count myself very, very lucky to be able to spend so much time doing what I love. Thank you to everyone who makes this possible.
PS. I am blogging far less frequently these days but am trying to get into the habit of sharing shorter updates to my new Facebook page. If anyone would like to keep in touch, you’ll find me there 🙂
