We are so lucky to have the Tidemills nature reserve on our doorstep. Coastal vegetated shingle is a special habitat, and crucial for our wildlife. Check out this Buglife link to find out more about the creatures that depend on it.
Special plants here include yellow horned poppy and sea kale, that grow right on the shingle. On a walk in July there were a number of other stunning flowers to see.
The vivid viper’s bugloss (above) is loved by bees and other pollinators, as are thistles like this spear thistle.. Also round the shingle you may spot woody nightshade and ivy leaved toadflax spreading across the pebbles
Look close in the grassy areas and you can find tiny mouse-ear, pretty pink common centaury, and hedge bedstraw which has four white petals and leaves in a circular arrangement up and down the stems
Yellow toadflax is another pretty plant, a member of the pea family with narrow grass like leaves and lovely pale yellow flowers
A low growing plant that is easy to miss in the grass is stonecrop. Earlier in the year the yellow biting stonecrop was blooming beautifully. Now the white ones are in full flower, delicate little star shaped flowers growing on surprisingly long stems in places. Check out the leaves of stonecrop, which are thick and succulent so able to conserve water and thrive even when there is a drought.
Away from the beach on the paths towards the new bridge and “road to nowhere” some giants reign. Buddleia reaches up to the sky, full of butterflies. Great spikes of mullein and evening primrose tower above the surrounding vegetation including various docks. These may not be so obviously pretty but their crispy towering spikes are interesting when you look closely!
Look carefully and you may also spot figwort and the tiny rather insignificant flowers of vervain, tufted vetch and St John’s wort which grow nearby.
We are always interested to know what you have spotted on your walks in Seaford. Do let us know!
Judy
