January Catkins

Hazel catkins In the small v-shaped wood between the two paths in the Serpentine Walk in Lower Largo. I think that it is earlier than normal for these catkins possibly because of the mild December.

Silver Birch Catkins

Catkins on a young silver birch tree in the Serpentine Walk.

Blue Skies

Hazel catkins in the Serpentine Walk against a blue background. 

After such a long, dark and wet winter it's good to look through the branches of the trees in the Serpentine Walk to blue skies above.

More Catkins

Hazel catkins - the lambs tails - which produce the pollen.. Two tiny red female catkins can be seen above.

A better view of the female hazel catkin. The red stigmas catch the pollen and eventually form the hazel nuts in the Autumn..

Pussy willow catkins silhouetted against a bright blue sky at the top of the Massney Braes. These are the male catkins of the goat willow - Salix caprea.

Signs of Spring

The first primroses that I've spotted growing wild in the bank at the side of the old railway track in Lower Largo.

Hazel catkins in the serpentine Walk, Lower Largo. The first sign that the trees are coming back to life.

Since it's St David's Day just a photo of the daffodils in the garden. These are tête-à-tête a tiny but delicate and reliably flowering daffodil.

Birch Catkins

Small birch female catkins like tiny cones against a bright blue sky in the garden.

When I picked off one of the catkins it disintegrated and could then see the tiny winged seeds. They are actually only a couple of millimetres in size.

Trees in the Serpentine Walk - 2

Ivy berries. Ivy - Hedera helix - is an important plant for wildlife. The berries ripen in late winter when there are few other berries about.

Ivy flowers from a photo taken previously.

Hazel catkins against a blue sky.

The attractive bark on a silver birch tree.

Pussy Willow

 Pussy willow at the top of the steps to the Massney Braes sparkling in the sunshine. These are the male catkins of the goat willow - salix caprea.

Trees in the Serpentine Walk

Ash keys silhouetted against a clear blue sky. All the keys in the direction of the prevailing wind. The black buds of the ash are also beginning to appear, reputedly one of the deepest blacks in nature.

Elsewhere in the Walk pussy willow and hazel catkins appearing.

After the recent stormy weather a tree trunk lies fallen at the beginning of the Walk. The tree had been dead for some time,an elm that had succombed to Dutch elm disease.

Small Waterfall

With the melt-water coming off the hills, the Largo Burn was in spate and produced this small waterfall in the Serpentine Walk at the junction of the two paths coming from Lower Largo.
In the Serpentine walk itself the shoots of snowdrops are just beginning to be seen and hazel catkins are also appearing.

Hazel - Catkin and Flower

Male catkin of the hazel tree. Can just see the red female flower at the top.

Close-up of the female flower with the red styles and stigmas.

Lamb's-Tails Catkins

Bitterly cold today and a thin layer of snow lying this morning but these catkins in the Serpentine walk show promise of Spring. I think they are hazel catkins. Clumps of snowdrops and aconites also now flowering.