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May 2023 - Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, London
The Wild Bunch by Roger Cox
When Wordsworth “wandered lonely as a cloud” over the “vales and hills” of the Lake District, the daffodils he mused upon to great acclaim in his classic poem were naturally occurring, uncultivated, and superabundant. Centuries later, their variants abound. Yet, unlike those gaudy imposters that appear from February to April in our gardens and green spaces, native wild daffodils are seldom seen in the wild.
This old Easter perennial, also known as the Lent Lily, once covered acres of Britain's hills, coastline, meadows and forest floors but, sadly, is now reduced to inhabiting a few sites of special interest in the Welsh Black Mountains, Cumbia, South Devon and now, of all places, Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park!
Indeed, an urban rarity has taken root in a corner of London’s East End, where crowds of wild daffodils can be seen, as Wordsworth might say, amongst the graves at every pass, bunched and blooming in the grass. Continuous as the spring is long. An arrival in which their flower harks, the wren and robin’s mating song. While summer’s dawn, their departure marks.
They’re more delicate and typically smaller than their more colourful cousins; about thirty-five centimetres tall, with narrow grey-green leaves and cream-coloured petals – not a great distinction to boast of, but they're not alone in blowing their own egg-yolk yellow trumpets when connoisseurs of native UK plants are proud to point out their East London peculiarity, or when poems and their pictures are shared by those who genuinely appreciate them.
PotM Gallery
The beauty of nature photography is that it can become "surprise photography," capturing some rare and unusual moments that are well-worth sharing. The Photo Of The Month Gallery is a collection of images and accounts by like-minded enthusiasts who were kind enough to share their more inspirational moments on the PotM Calendar.
Is wildlife or nature photography something you’re passionate about? If you have a story to tell with a stand-out picture you’d like to share, we've plenty of wall space here in our gallery.