2025 Revisited

 Looking back over 2025, it was a good year. 

January - started with the New Year Plant Hunt as usual, with five walks finding 100 different flowering species. The favourite Woodnesborough walk picked up 55 species, setting a challenge for 2026.

February saw the first trip of the year, by sleeper to the Med.  And the blue sky in Nice was .... nice.

Not many flowers around but a first orchids for the year were out, Giant Orchids of course, emerging from an old Roman road..

I was appalled by the lack of snow in the Alps....

In March, our wanderings took us around the local area as usual, generally calling at small churches for a coffee and snack, or maybe even a packed lunch. Churches that are unlocked, have coffee-making facilities and maybe even a toilet give us weary pilgims a welcome haven. 

April saw the start of my my surveying year, which kept me busy through the summer and autumn, visiting Local Wildlife Sites and then writing the reports. It all became a bit of a blur. The surveying took me to unusual places, like the coal tip below where I watched a family of Ravens on a pylon. 

Much of the summer was taken up tramping around the Ash Levels, pushing my identification skills of ditch and water-side plants. I was delighted to find Tubular Water-dropwort (left) to add to another new plant for me, Corky-fruited Water-dropwort (right), that lives in a totally different habitat. 

There's a lot of hot, unshaded walking across the marshes, but when I find beauties like Flowering Rush and Greater Bladderwort it's all worthwhile.   

May saw a survey of a different kind, as we became fascinated by urban flora, thanks to a new book by Trevor Dines. Mel looked down drains to find ferns, and we picked up the occasional rarity like Oak-leaved Goosefoot, here by Deal Castle.

In June, I took the train to Northumberland to catch up with an old school friend. The county did not disappoint, and for a time it was hotter than down south.

A visit to Holy Island was badly timed to coincide with the hottest day (there's no shade there) but I was fortunate to meet Chris Metherall, county recorder, who kindly showed me a small colony of Lindisfarne Helleborines.

 In July, we counted 860 Red Hemp-nettle plants in a field near Adisham, as part of a Plantlife project. They seem to be thriving after we helped sow them about five years ago.  And nearby was our invertebrate find of the year - a Water Stick-insect. 

I had the chance to stay in London for a few days in August, so took in the sights. It was hot and busy but the traffic improvements achieved in the past few years have made the city far more pleasant, with less traffic, fumes and noise.

Using buses was a joy, and free, but borrowing an electric bike opened the place up a treat. Cycling round Buckingham Palace, the City and the East End in a hour was easy, and I also explored the Surrey Docks, now transformed by green corridors.

There were still interesting plants to see between the concrete, like the recent abundance of Jersey Cudweed, and these Nettle-leaved Bellflowers in the lovely Bunhill Cemetery. 

In September we found the Dragonfly Pond near Sandwich Bay Observatory and it quickly became a favourite stop for coffees and occasionally fish and chips. The pond has a flourishing colony of Whorled Water-milfoil, again a first for me.  

October was the month of hay-making at Hawkshill, and we recruited 30+ willing volunteers over four days to scissor-cut, rake, bag and store an extraordinary amount of grass. It's looking good there now and we're hoping for a continued improvement in biodiversity in 2026.

November is a dreary month, but it was saved by searching for flowering plants. It encouraged us out on almost all days, and we found a creditable 247 species. This achievement was, however, eclipsed by the North Downs and Beyond, who recorded a few more despite us having the benefit of seaside habitats. Little joys were found, like a single solitary Autumn Gentian at Lydden and Monkeyflower in the Dour.

In December we joined the Wild Flower Society and started to tackle their Winter Months Flower Hunt. The number of flowering species seen in December was 152, with most becoming scarcer as the cold month wore on, but with a few early spring flowers appearing, like the Green Hellebores in Caen Wood.

But the find of the month was the less showy Argentine Fleabane Erigeron bonariensis, found on a farm track in Marshborough, a second for Kent (the first being in 1978 in Greenhythe). It's an unassuming little plant and it had not yet flowered or set seed; I feel, however, that it will spread rapidly once it gets a hold.

So that's it for 2025.... living the dream in retirement, by avoiding shops, aeroplanes and the harsher things of life, and embracing family and friends. Here's to 2026 🥂🌼