wild flowers

Vetch by Áine and Maeve

Vetch has pinky purple flowers. It has a long stem with leaves on it. There is more than one flower on each stem. Vetch has seeds that look like peas in a pod.

We have lots of vetch near our school. It grows in hedges and shady places.

		The Cow Parsley by Shona and Heather The cow parsley plant is very common along our roadsides and in the hedges around our school. It is in flower in May. The petals are white and the stem is green. The leaves are slightly hairy. Cow parsley has many cousins. They are poisonous. The cow parsley plant is about 3 or 4 feet high.

	Germander Speedwell by Amy, Laura and Colin The leaves of the germander speedwell are heart shaped and hairy and the flowers are bright blue. The stem on the plant runs along the ground. It flowers from April until the end of June. The flowers never come up on a cold day. It is common in open woods and in hedge banks. We find lots of it around our school. The foxglove and the snapdragon are in the same family as the speedwell.

		Vetch by Áine and Maeve Vetch has pinky purple flowers. It has a long stem with leaves on it. There is more than one flower on each stem. Vetch has seeds that look like peas in a pod. We have lots of vetch near our school. It grows in hedges and shady places.

	The Common Dog Violet by Edel A few weeks ago when we went on a nature walk we found the common dog violet. We noticed it likes shady areas because we found it at the bottom of a hedgerow near our school. It is a deep blue colour.
	You have to look carefully to find the dog violet because it is a small flower. The flower has five petals. The stem is short. It is a delicate looking flower. The dog violet is common throughout Ireland. It blossoms from March to June.

		The Daisy by Kim Daisy comes from “day’s eye.” The daisy is a common weed of lawns so gardeners don’t like them. It grows in grassy places throughout Ireland. It flowers practically the whole year.
	Children like making daisy chains. Once, a group of us made daisy chain longer than 6 metres. The daisy is a dwarf perennial with a rosette of leaves. It has a hairy flower stalk that is few inches long.

	Herb Robert by Amy, Laura and Colin When we went on our nature walk we found lots of herb robert. Is seems to like shade because it was at the bottom of the hedgerow. It is found in every county in Ireland. It flowers from May to September. Herb Robert has a very hairy stem and an unpleasant smell. Animals avoid it. In the Middle Ages, its juice was used to stop bleeding from wounds and for various ailments of humans and animals.

		The Dandelion by Shona and Heather The dandelion has hollow stems, which contain a sticky white juice. It has a long trap root that is difficult to dig out of the ground. They are weeds. There are three different kinds of dandelion. These are, lesser dandelion, marissa dandelion and the common dandelion. We have mostly common dandelion around our school.

	The Bluebell by Áine and Maeve Bluebells are a purple-blue colour. The flowers look like bells. Their heads droop. They have long stems so they are able to see around themselves. They grow near our school.
	They are found in hedges and shrubs and are very common in gardens. They feed on greenfly so gardeners like them. The nest in holes, sometimes in places such as letterboxes.

		Greater Stichwort by Amy, Laura and Colin The stem of greater stichwort is slender and weak. There are five petals on each flower. It is a white flower. The rich green leaves are lanced-shaped and rough. Greater stichwort is a common plant in ditches and hedgerows. It flowers from April to June. Laura found greater stichwort in a ditch near her house. It was in a shady place.

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Wild Flowers