Cow Parsley in The Great Churchyard by Jacquie Campbell

May 2nd, The Great Churchyard in Bury St Edmunds is transformed into a magical space by the lacy veil of cow parsley blooms. The plants rise to our waists and offer a shady undergrowth for White Dead-Nettle, Borage and Wild Garlic. Those Orange- tipped butterflies are everywhere, they seem really appreciative that the churchyard runs wild for a while. Soon it’ll all be cut back to give other plants a glimpse of sunlight.

Cow Parsley is one of my favourite flowers. When lockdown was announced I initially wondered whether I’d be taking my usual evening walks here. Thankfully its within the scope of my daily exercise.

So other names its known by: Wild Chervil; Wild Beaked Parsley; Keck; Queen Anne’s Lace; Fairy Lace and Mother Die. Now, that last name has an interesting story attached, one to look up.

I think I’m going to try drawing this, I like the strong architectural shapes. Take a look at the Plant Share post to find out how you can get involved in this online artwork.

Before I sign off for today I wanted to show my old wildflower books. Does anyone else have the Observer book or this W.Keble Martin illustrated guide? Hopefully not as deconstructed as mine 😉

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