Unfortunately, early yesterday morning I chose to go to Shellness beach and Point, on the gloomiest morning of the week and so the light for the photos wasn't too brilliant. This most easterly point of the reserve hardly features in my postings these days. Up and till a few years ago I would walk all the way there and back from my normal park at the reserve barn but it started to play havoc with my painful feet and ankles. The only other alternative, which I used yesterday, is the Shellness track, which is only really suited to 4x4's and tractors. But anyway, I resolve to do better. It is the only habitat of that kind on Sheppey and as well as featuring some spectacular and daily, high tide bird roosts it can also have some great displays wild flowers relevant to sandy beaches and dunes.
This photo was taken on a sunnier day and looks across the sand and shell beach towards Harty, note the Oystercatcher roost by the shore.
A part of the beach is roped off and out of bounds for the reasons given below.
Here we have Sea Spurge, which is a fairly new coloniser of the beach.
A
forest of Prickly Lettuce plants.
Sea Campion
Biting Stonecrop. There were great yellow carpets of this flower.
Yellow-horned Poppy
Agrimony
Vipers Bugloss
Sea Holly, yet to come into flower
Sea Lavender
Never heard of prickly lettuce before. The yellow stonecrop flowers are as bright as the sun; must have wonderful to see them laid out like carpet.
ReplyDeleteWilma, the Prickly Lettuce is a very uninspiring plant except for it's height. The Stonecrop does look quite splendid along the beach, there is also a white version called English Stonecrop.
ReplyDeleteHere I am.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing crop of unfamiliar wild flowers Derek - and beautiful they are too. Unfamiliar to me, that is, as I live so far from the sea and they are obviously sea shore plants. Sometimes I feel sad that I have never lived close to the sea, where all the natural features are so different.
Derek - you speak of David Austin roses. When we lived in Wolverhampton, my previous husband and I lived only a couple of miles from his gardens at Albrighton. You can imagine what they were like at this time of the year. His old-fashioned roses are perfection.
ReplyDeleteAre there any more of your unusual, sea-side plants to come? I found them so interesting.
Lucky you Pat, his gardens must be amazing. Will do some more wild flowers soon, will pick a sunny day this time.
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