The wild Arum Lily

Whilst walking my dogs, Bobbie and Wolfie, along a shaded, woodland path alongside a disused railway line recently, I noticed a striking wildflower emerging from a cluster of glossy green leaves. It reminded me of the elegant and exotic Arum Lily, which you can buy from florist’s shops as a cut flower.

Back at home, I carried out some research to try to identify the plant and discovered that it is indeed part of the Arum family. Its correct name is Arum Maculatum, but it’s more commonly known as Lords and Ladies. It thrives in shady, woodland areas, and usually emerges in April or May. I think the ones I saw were a little earlier than usual this year due to the warm temperatures that we’ve been experiencing.

The plant is pollinated by insects lured towards it by an unpleasant odour. They are then dusted with pollen from the male flowers before escaping and spreading the pollen to the female flowers on nearby plants. When the leaves and flowers die back in the autumn, a cluster of highly poisonous bright red berries is all that remains.

Bountiful Black Thorn promises bumper crop of sloes

I’ve noticed a particularly lavish display of creamy-white blossom on the Black Thorn trees and bushes lining nearby hedgerows.

Its delicate beauty is a sight to behold and a potent sign of spring , but the abundance of blossom also promises a bumper crop of sloes - the dark, blue-black berries used to make Sloe Gin – this autumn. Sloes are the fruit of the Black Thorn, or Prunus Spinosa to give it its correct name.

In recent years, sloes have been thin on the ground as the late frosts seemed to strike at just the wrong time, damaging the blossom buds and preventing the berries from forming properly. This year, a harsh winter followed by an unseasonably warm April seems to have created just the right conditions and I look forward to rich pickings in the autumn.