My oasis
Growing up and living in the countryside for much of her life, Helen is used to big wide open spaces and loves being outside. She enjoys coming to the Centre for Wildlife Gardening, as it’s like…
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Chwilio
Biting stonecrop
Also known as 'Goldmoss' due to its dense, low-growing nature and yellow flowers, Biting stonecrop can be seen on well-drained ground like sand dunes, shingle, grasslands, walls and…
Field bindweed
A creeping and climbing plant of cultivated ground, Field Bindweed can become a pest in places as it stops other plants from growing. It has creamy, sometimes striped, large flowers, and arrow-…
Japanese knotweed
Introduced from Japan in the 19th century, Japanese knotweed is now an invasive non-native plant of many riverbanks, waste grounds and roadside verges, where it prevents native species from…
Stork's-bill
The bill-shaped seed pods of Common Stork's-bill explode when ripe, sending the seeds flying! This low-growing plant has pretty pink flowers and can be seen on grasslands and coastal sands.…
My roots
Hassan & Asma moved from the Sudan in 1969 as newlyweds, so that Hassan could take up a job at Kings College Hospital. Hassan remembers farming with his father, watering the broad beans, wheat…
Lesser sea-spurrey
Traditionally a coastal species, Lesser sea-spurrey has spread inland, taking advantage of the winter-salting of our roads. Its pink-and-white flowers bloom in summer.
My Work Placement with The Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales
Over Easter I was excited to spend two weeks on placement with The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. Growing up in Swansea, my home has always been in South Wales. I completed my biology…
Saltmarsh and mudflats
Saltwater marshes and mudflats form as saltwater floods swiftly and silently up winding creeks to cover the marsh before retreating again. This process reveals glistening mud teeming with the…
Marsh Fritillary Update
The Brecknock nature reserves, Ystradfawr and Cae Lynden near Ystradgynlais, are reknown sites for Marsh Fritillary butterflies. The management of these sites focuses on supporting the habitat…
Calaminarian grassland
This is a strange, sparse habitat of grassland growing on old mining tracks and slag heaps, on river gravels and naturally exposed metal-rich soils in the mountains. Only the toughest metal-loving…
Cae Bryntywarch
This wildflower meadow has always been managed traditionally with grazing by cattle or ponies from spring to autumn. This kind of rough, damp grassland is known in Wales as Rhos pasture and is…