Off We Go, Potato!

The Wildflower Quest

It started with wanting to know what I was walking past. It has become a year-long excuse to go outside, look closely and learn the names of sixty British wildflowers.

The idea

Max and I are looking for the flowers through the seasons, on familiar walks and trips to new places. I’ve created a set of botanical fact sheets as part of my ‘learning to use AI agents effectively’ project at work, and now the real joy is finding newp laces and learning to spot those 60 plants as well as some others. The list was partly created from personal association, partly from geographical likelihood and partly from plants mentioned in Watership Down.

What I’m collecting

  • Photographs and notes about where and when we find each flower.
  • The details that help me recognise it next time.
  • Colours that might become crochet squares and, eventually, a blanket.
  • The stories of the walks, including the ones where we find something entirely different.

Follow the trail.

Start with the first post →

Browse the wildflower posts →

The List – and the discoveries.

  1. Common Poppy
  2. English Lavender
  3. Common Foxglove
  4. Primrose
  5. Dandelion – 27/9/26 – Ferry Meadows
  6. Native Bluebell
  7. Common Honeysuckle
  8. Lily-of-the-Valley
  9. Red Clover
  10. Cowslip
  11. Oxeye Daisy
  12. Red Campion
  13. Ragged-Robin
  14. Meadow Buttercup
  15. Yarrow – 27/9/26 – Ferry Meadows
  16. Cow Parsley
  17. Wild Garlic
  18. Cuckoo-Pint (Lords-and-Ladies) – 27/9/26 – Ferry Meadows
  19. Meadowsweet
  20. Selfheal
  21. Creeping Cinquefoil and Tormentil – – 27/9/26 – Ferry Meadows (Cinquefoil)
  22. Harebell
  23. Bird’s-Foot Trefoil
  24. Common Knapweed – 27/9/26 – Ferry Meadows
  25. Wild Teasel – 27/9/26 – Ferry Meadows
  26. Germander Speedwell
  27. Greater Stitchwort
  28. Wood Anemone
  29. Common Mallow
  30. Deadly Nightshade
  31. Purple Loosestrife
  32. Brooklime
  33. Scarlet Pimpernel
  34. Watercress
  35. Hedge Woundwort
  36. Common Vervain
  37. Kingcup (Marsh Marigold)
  38. Bugle
  39. Snowdrop
  40. Wild Daffodil
  41. Sweet Violet
  42. Common Daisy
  43. Wood Forget-Me-Not
  44. Common Columbine
  45. Herb-Robert
  46. Cornflower
  47. Field Scabious
  48. Heather (Ling)
  49. Sweet Pea
  50. Autumn Hawkbit
  51. Dog’s Mercury
  52. Common Toadflax
  53. Groundsel and Common Ragwort – 27/9/26 – Ferry Meadows (Ragwort)
  54. Silverweed
  55. Cuckooflower (Lady’s-Smock)
  56. Tufted Vetch and Common Vetch
  57. Great Willowherb
  58. Pasqueflower
  59. Wild Strawberry
  60. Great Burnet