Roadtrip: Cricklade Fritillaries

Purple and white snake's head fritillaries

It was quite chilly today but we had planned to see the famous snake'shead fritillaries (Fritillaria meleagris) at  North Meadow nature reserve in Cricklade for some time. This old hay meadow is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and supports Britain's largest population of the rare fritillaries and it took us at least one hour to walk around the meadow. The fritillaries moved with the breeze like a field of little bells and a sparkly purple haze seems to hover over the grass and it is a shame that these impressions don't translate to photos. Afterwards we went for lunch to the Fritillary Tea Room, organised by the Cricklade Bloomers where a wide range of plants was on sale, so I bought a few for the shady part of my garden, a variegated solomon's seal and a geranium, as these seem to do quite well in my garden.

If you're in the area, North Meadow is really worth the drive and the second and third week of April is the best time to see the fritillaries!

Much love,
Qaroline

Purple haze: North Meadow Nature Reserve

The German name for these flowers is 'Schachbrettblume' (chessboard flower) and here you can see why.