Look out for springtime flowers along the Thames Path starting with hedgerow trees. The Blackthorn, a tree with spiky, dark purple branches, has many scented white flowers springing out of their tight buds. At this stage there are no leaves on Blackthorn branches.
Blackthorn blossom is so thick that from a distance it looks as though the hedgerow is covered in snow. Perhaps that’s the origin of the phrase ‘Blackthorn Winter’.
Among the damp grass of the meadows look for the pale lilac-coloured petals of the Cuckoo-flower or Lady’s Smock. Clusters of flowers rise above the grass to attract the first butterflies of spring. The colourful Orange-Tip and Green-veined White butterflies feed on the Cuckoo-flower.
When you’ve found the Cuckoo-flower listen out for cuckoos calling. Cuckoos arrive in the Thames Valley during April after their long migration from Africa. They lay their eggs in the nests of reed warblers and other birds that nest near rivers.
The Loddon Lily is a rare plant on the Thames Path, but there are two places where you’re sure to see this tall, snowdrop-like flower: in wet woodland at Clifton Hampden bridge, and in Cholsey Marsh nature reserve. The Loddon Lily, is named after the River Loddon a tributary of the Thames in Berkshire, where it used to grow abundantly.
The golden flowers of Marsh-marigolds or Kingcups brighten up the riverbank. These large leaved relatives of the field buttercups, and have alternative names such as Mollyblobs and Water-bubbles. This is one of the oldest native plants in the UK.
The May tree or Hawthorn continues the springtime hedgerow blossom season, with heavily-scented creamy-white flowers unfurling from their buds among bright green leaves.
Identify the difference between Blackthorn, which flowers in March and April before its leaves appear, and Hawthorn which has many green leaves on its branches before the white, and sometimes pink, flowers bloom in April and May.
