TravelGuides

(TGA) - Dont want to miss the wildflowers on our first trip to ireland.
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Not quite sure what you mean by "wildflowers". Rare species or the run-of-the-mill thingies that most gardeners would consider a weed...?
May to June is a good time for flowers, the hawthorn hedges will be bursting with sweet scented flowers, the ditches will be full of cow parsley (Queen Anne's lace) and butttercups, the fields will sprout their own crop of red and brown clover, there will be daisies all over the place and you might find some late violets. Rape seed fields will add a very vivid splash of bright yellow to the landscape and then there are some places where the bluebells run riot. The wild rhododendrons (can be quite a pest in areas) will be out. There will be cowslips in fields and along the roads.
Things quieten down a bit for the rest of the summer. Valerian in shades of red, pink and white lasts a good while in walls and ditches. Some walls and hedges will be woven through with wild honeysuckle. The fuchsia hedges, particularly in Cork and Kerry, will be a sea of red.
Because of the long, cold, protracted winter everything will be a bit late this year.
The Burren in Clare is a great place for seeing some rare species of wildflowers and orchids (mind: look - don't pick!).
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THANK YOU! I will delay my departure from the US until first week in May then. Yes, to thingies that most would consider weeds.
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I hope you won't be disappiointed, Ashley-Katyanne. Please don't expect too much, though.
I love looking at the hedgerows and ditches and their delicate colour schemes. But I'm not an expert on wildflowers.
A lot of flowers have disappeared because of intensive farming, the blue cornflower has almost gone altogether.
I think you might enjoy just looking at people's front gardens, they will be just so cheerful... well, maybe later on in May, not when you'll be here.
Enjoy nonetheless!
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Hi Askley Kaytanne
Heres a few links to sites which may be of interest in your quest http://www.wildflowersofireland.net/ & http://www.irishwildflowers.ie/ Both sites give links to whats currently in flower - so should be helpful for you keeping your eye out for whats in bloom when you are here.
Enjoy!
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Ashley-Katyanne
If you fly in or out of Shannon, then be sure to spend a day in the Burren region of north Clare if you like wildflowers. The Burren is unique in that alpine and mediterranean flowers grow side by side. But, these flowers are hidden away in the limestone landscape; be sure to get out take a walk to discover these little beauties.
More information here:
http://www.burrenbeo.com/
On the above website you will find information about guided walks of the area. Be sure to pack proper walking shoes/boots if you wish to take one. The ground is very uneven.
and at the Burren Perfumery near the little village of Carran, in the heart of the Burren, you will find a short slideshow:
http://www.burrenperfumery.com/
my photos of the area, which include a few shots of flowers I found along the way:
flickr.com/photos/…
flickr.com/photos/…
May is my favourite time of year in Ireland.
:-)
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Thanks for the links. Your pics are absolutely wonderful! Cant wait to see it in person!
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These links were most informative with so many flowers to experience. It must be breathtaking when they are in bloom. Planning my trip to be 1st 2 weeks in May.
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Kaytanne,
There is a bush here called a 'furze' You should see lots of it in May !!
www.flickr.com/photos/ruthann/423318520/
It is well known by it's bright yellow flower. In very hot weather you can hear it's little pods popping like popping corn.
What is amusing is that most Irish people see it as a blight on the landscape as it reproduces at a massive rate and regular burnings of it take place in rural areas. I have however, on many occasions seen visitors to this country oohing and aaahing over it's beauty and trying to pick it's prickly foliage.
In Killarney and some other areas they are pestered by a proliferation of what I perceive to be a most beautiful shrub called the rhodendendron which is considered as an 'infestation' http://homepage.eircom.net/~knp/rhodo/index.htm
I hope that you get to see some of our wild fuschia which grows in abundance all over this country and is taken for granted by us. www.pbase.com/image/109495780.
These plants look quite stunning in full bloom.
I would be interested to read after you've seen them if you consider them things of beauty or annoying infestations !
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I can assure you I will love the sites of such beautiful colors. The Rhododendrons are a special favorite. On Whidbey Island near Seattle boasts forests of these plants. When they are in bloom it is breathtaking. I tried to grow them myself, but the freeezes took them. lThe "poppping flower" will be amazing to see. I have never heard of them. What a delight the "popcorn" fields will be. I have never met a flower or "flowering weed" I did not enjoy. My office has pics of wildflowers we have discovered across the world. My friend is an exceptional photographer who has documented our wonder treks and the flowers. Thanks so much for sharing these wonderful flowers to expect. I may just relocate to enjoy all the seasons of them-smile.
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You might also be interested in this web site called Notice Nature (in Ireland).
http://www.noticenature.ie/
By the season:
noticenature.ie/Notice_Nature_Seasons.html
Species of the Month:
noticenature.ie/Feburary_Species_of_the_Mont…
And, a map:
http://www.noticenature.ie/map.html
A beautiful 3-minute video here entitled: Spring Wild Flowers in Britain and Ireland:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2niLTXqMkDc
Enjoy!
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