Spring Flowers

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The flowering dates are rather variable and dependant on weather. Spring can come any time from
mid March-late April.

March	April	May
Coltsfoot (hoof shaped leaves), one of the earliest spring flowers to bloom-juice from leaves was used as a cough cure.	Early Dog Violet is more common in Cookstown area than others-due to Carboniferous limestone outcrops.	Pink Campion with attractive vibrant pink flowers is found occasionallyin dry hedgerows and scrubby areas from mid May until early June
Marsh-Marigold is visited by many insects for pollen and nectar. Another name is king-cup - Old English (cop-button)	Common Dog Violet is usually found on dry sunny banks and often with primroses. the plant is altogether more compact than Early Dog Violet	The Bluebell is an iconic species-limited to the Atlantic edges of N.W.Europe, especially British Isles. Presently under threat from Spanish Bluebell.
Primroses are less common than formerly. They produce male and female flowers. If insects are scarce pollination may not occur.	There are +100 insect species associated with Blackthorn or Sloe. White flowers appear in late March and tannin filled astringent drupes in September.	Flag Iris with sword like leaves, grows in damp ditches and pond margins. The strongly yellow flowers liven up damp ditches in mid May
Lesser Celandine carpets woodlands with a splash of gold in early spring. Much loved by Wordsworth who devoted a poem to the plant.	Toothwort is the 'ghost' of our spring flower world. A parasite which grows near hazel roots.The creamy white flower spikes appear without leaves.
Wood Anemone flowers only open properly in sunlight, they have a foxey smell and poisonous roots.