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Garden Blog – Bloomin’ Lovely

 The volunteers at the National Botanic Garden of Wales do all manner of jobs, so when I said that I hadn’t been to Pont Felin Gat since the autumn and wanted to go, a couple of us were sent off on a fact finding mission to see what was happening down there.

I was really chuffed to be going because I wanted to see whether the carpet of wood anemones that I saw last spring had arrived. We set off from the Principality House car park and took the Welsh Country Walk path that starts in the woods. The first thing we saw was a tree creeper. A pretty little bird with a long curved bill and feet which are specially adapted for climbing up tree trunks. That was a good start. It was a pleasant day weatherwise and it was a joy to be out and about. One of the things we had been asked to check on was elf cups. These are fungi that appear early in the year, these were red and shaped like a cup. We found some on a decaying log on the side of the path and later as we walked we found more. They were clearly at the end of their season so if you want to see them you need to be quick.

We also found some golden saxifrage; this is a tiny yellow flowered, low growing plant which you could easily miss if you aren’t looking for it. When you know what to look for you will see it everywhere, in Pont Felin Gat that is. The other plant that can easily be missed is dog’s mercury. This was in bloom but can be passed over because the flowers are green. It’s one of those plants that we ignore, the flowers being described as inconspicuous. The wood anemones were there but were not in full bloom and the celandine was also there but was only flowering in patches. I think it was a little bit early, all they need is 2 or 3 days and some sunshine and they’ll be blooming lovely. The other things that look as though they will be blooming lovely are the bluebells. They are only green leaves at the moment but they are everywhere and when they are in bloom will be a sight to see. Keep watching the website for more news about them.

It was a pity to waste a lovely morning by just retracing our steps, so we continued on the circular walk. We were so glad that we did because the lambs were in the field with their mothers. They are just so sweet. Some of them could only have been a couple of days old and yet were running along to keep up with Mum. This little group in the photograph stopped to look at us for a few minutes before deciding that we weren’t worth their attention and taking the little ones further away from the fence. What a lovely way to end our walk.

Pam Murden