Where to see woodland wildflowers

When it comes to woodland wildflowers, there’s one plant that hogs the headlines – and it’s easy to see why! Bluebells are undeniably beautiful, carpeting the forest floor in a swaying sea of violet-blue petals. They flower around April and can be an indication that you’re standing in an ancient woodland.

But they aren’t the only wildflowers that grace our woodlands each spring. You could find the ground coated with wild garlic, scenting the air with that unmistakable aroma, or wood anemones with star-shaped flowers balanced atop long slender stalks. Combine these colourful carpets with the soundtrack of singing birds and you have an idyllic spring scene.

Nature Reserves Officer Lewis Goldwater adds:

"Floral signs of spring are appearing in our ancient woodland nature reserves, but also can be seen on many reserves where woodland only forms one of the habitats there. Hedgerows and small copses may be relics of much older and more extensive woodlands and can provide clues about the history of the landscape. Early purple orchid and dog’s mercury are both ancient woodland indicators and stand out early in spring when other ground flora is still emerging. At The Goggin Nature Reserve, these species and other ancient woodland indicators are found in areas that have been disturbed by old limestone extraction but clearly have been able to re-establish, along with the woodland when lime production was abandoned there, centuries ago. Early purple orchid has been spotted growing in the meadows, but this is the first record in the woodland itself."