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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

A glorious weekend of warm sunshine ☀️. I came across a field full of flowering Cat’s-ear (Hypochaeris radicata) — a beautiful reminder that autumn still has plenty of floral surprises in store #WildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Carthusian Pink (Dianthus carthusianorum) and Maiden Pink (Dianthus deltoides) are reflowering in response to the warm, sunny weather. #WildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

The oak tree in my backyard is covered in flowering Ivy, and it’s absolutely buzzing! Hundreds of hoverflies, wasps, and bees are flying in and out #WildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Excited to share my article on the UK’s record-breaking summer of 2026 in the latest issue of the Dutch Weather Magazine! I was there in June and early July and experienced part of this remarkable season first-hand. A summer that left its mark on the weather records! @metoffice.gov.uk

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

My first waxcap of the year, the beautiful Blackening Waxcap. Growing in species-rich heathland, it transforms over the course of just a few days: from vivid red-orange, to earthy orange-brown, and finally to deep black. A fleeting spectacle of the autumn grasslands. #waxcap #FungiFriday

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I got these Hart’s-tongue ferns from a wildlife gardener friend. They’re going to have a lovely spot in a shady part of my garden.

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I never tire of hoverflies in my garden. This beautiful Drone Fly was a particularly good model, posing on tansy. #WildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I came across Common Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) in a garden near me. A succulent annual herb native to the Mediterranean region. #WildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

My contribution to #Wildflowerhour starts at the end of the day. I came across this common knapweed on my dog walk this evening and… I saw the whole of the moon 🌕 (The Waterboys).

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

This little robin flew into the window this afternoon and was lying dazed on the ground. I gently picked it up and gave it some time to recover. After about 15 minutes, it was ready to fly again and happily made its way back into the garden.

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Hedgerow Crane's-bill (Geranium pyrenaicum) in my wildflower garden #WildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

A little collage of some of the flowers blooming in my wildflower patch. From top left: Maiden Pink, Creeping Bellflower, Common Yarrow, Goldenrod, Vervain and Bird's-foot Trefoil #WildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Today, I spotted this Lesser Hawkbit (Leontodon saxatilis) in our community meadow. Just two weeks after cutting, it’s already blooming again #WildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Devil’s-bit Scabious is my absolute #favouriteplant this year. 💜 A few memorable moments: 🪻 Blooming in abundance at Distillery Meadows, Wiltshire, in June 🪻 Popping up in my own garden 🪻 Scattered across heathlands and fen meadows

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

This Late Spider Orchid definitely deserves a place among my #favouriteplant of 2026. I captured this beauty during the fabulous #OrchidOfKent tour with @mariposanature.bsky.social earlier this year. What a memorable encounter! 💚 #WildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Inspired by a field visit, I planted Common Fleabane for pollinators. Bullseye! 🎯 Wild bees, hoverflies and butterflies flocked to its flowers. A #favouriteplant for this week’s #WildflowerHour.

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Out in the field today, teaching botanical field skills 2.5 metres below sea level to BSc Nature Management students. And where better to learn than with a giant white-tailed eagle sitting in a tree nearby?

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

In my mini-habitat tube, I found the #fruits of the Bog cranberry. #wildflowerhour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I asked my daughter to capture #fruits on her walks in and around Canterbury. She did so, finding Hawthorn, Blackberries and Rose hips in hedgerows and - in her favourite place of all - apple in a nearby orchard 😀 #WildflowererHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

American black cherry (Prunus serotina) is notorious. Its #Fruits spread rapidly through woodland and heathland. This week, I had school groups visiting to help remove the shrubs #WildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Like many parts of the UK, Kent was warm and dry this summer. Many #Fruits shrivelled on the plants, like these blackberries near Canterbury #WildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

What a beauty! This Small Copper enjoying the Goldenrod in my garden.

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Out and about this afternoon with Vroege Vogels, a Dutch nature radio programme, exploring the value of Canadian and Aiton (Late) Goldenrod for insects 🐝🦋 A plant with a mixed reputation: a valuable food source for insects, but a bit of a botanical troublemaker in some places. 😉

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

What an incredible plant this is. Grass of Parnassus is spectacular in flower, but with its #SeedHeads, it’s absolutely stunning #WildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Heat and drought have brought out the #SeedHeads early this year. A little glimpse of my wildlife garden #WildflowerHour (Names in Alt)

Betony Goldenrod
Bird's-foot trefoil, Reflexed Stonecrop
Oxlip, Water Avens

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

One of my favourite plants in the garden is Small Scabious (Scabiosa columbaria), with its beautiful flowers and delicate #SeedHeads standing side by side

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Came across these #SeedHeads of Common Mallow, with a few Firebugs enjoying them #WildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

My contribution to this week’s #WildflowerHour starts with a little glimpse of #SeedHeads in our community meadow

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

This week, I visited a flower-rich floodplain and came across this ecotone a fascinating transition between a fen meadow/dune slack-like habitat and an alluvial riparian zone. 🌿🌸 #wildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Simply beautiful. Grass of Parnassus and Marsh Gentian: a beautiful meeting of fen meadow and wet calcareous grassland on a Rhine floodplain, reminiscent of a dune slack.

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

A great day along the Rhine River, with many botanical surprises, such as Branched Horsetail (Equisetum ramosissimum) and Moore’s Horsetail (Equisetum × moorei), the hybrid between Wood Horsetail and Branched Horsetail.

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

I’ve never seen so much Grass of Parnassus. Millions and millions of them growing on a floodplain near the Rhine.

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Who says walls have to be vertical? Pavements are just walls laid flat! Here’s my twist on #WallPlants for tonight’s #wildflowerhour: Bird’s-foot Trefoil 😀

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Yellow corydalis brightening a wall in Bradford-on-Avon. #WallPlants ##WildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

This newly restored medieval drinking trough in my town hides a little ‘deep’ secret: a beautiful patch of Hart’s-tongue Fern.🌿 #WallPlants ##WildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Devil’s-bit scabious isn’t exactly known as a wall plant, but someone forgot to tell the one in my garden! 😄 #WallPlants #wildflowerhour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

A splash of scented, yellow Lady’s Bedstraw brightening a wall near the Royal Crescent in Bath #WallPlants #WildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

From lawn to a brand-new 2 m2 wildflower patch in 2 hours 😀 I divided and moved Knapweed, Field scabious, Ox-eye daisy and Marjoram from other parts of the garden and planted some seedlings of Maiden Pink and Wild Thyme in between.🌸

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

A sunny, dry part of my lawn has been completely taken over by smooth finger-grass (Digitaria sanguinalis), a Mediterranean species that benefits from warm, dry summers. A perfect opportunity to give this patch a makeover and let my wildflower meadow grow even bigger! #wildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Not black-and-white photos, but dark storm clouds that briefly let the sun shine through this evening. The 20 millimeters of rain were very welcome, by the way.

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

My mother used to call Bindweed “Little chamber Pots”, a local folk name inspired by the shape of its flowers. It feels rather fitting for this week’s #WildflowerHour. Devil’s Garter might be the more fitting #CommonNames for those twisting vines in my garden.

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

I was surprised to find such a delicate and vibrant Bird’s-foot Trefoil thriving among the dry grass. Its name refers to the long, narrow seed pods that radiate like the toes of a bird’s foot. The Latin corniculatus means “horned”, describing the horn-like pods. #CommonNames #WildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Fleabane is such a quirky #CommonNames, literally “bane of fleas” (flea + bane). Several species go by this curious name: Common Fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica) and Small Fleabane (Pulicaria vulgaris) 🌼 #WildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Found lots of Devil’s-bit scabious (Succisa pratensis). Spotted one by chance growing on the wall in my garden, and thousands more in a nearby nature reserve. Surely one of the quirkiest #CommonNames! Apparently, the root looks as though the Devil has taken a bite out of it #WildflowerHour

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

That sound… I’ve missed it! 🌧️💦

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

It’s also magical to watch nature during an #eclipse. I noticed so many birds suddenly becoming active. A curlew started calling, while flocks of starlings and geese flew overhead, probably heading off to their roosts for the night #SolarEclipse

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

What a spectacular #eclipse, just like the one in 1999! It was magical watching the twilight slowly creep in. I was standing up on the dike, with the perfect view to catch the eclipse’s reflection shimmering across the water.

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Henk-Jan van der Veen @henk-janvdveen.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Spent some time along the riverside. The exposed riverbanks are home to some fascinating members of the #DaisyFamily, like Small Fleabane (Pulicaria vulgaris) #WildflowerHour

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