A slow start to spring

 It has been a hesitant spring here in County Durham, in the North Pennines, but a few wild flowers are beginning to bloom. Here are some from the first half of March.

Colt'sfoot, in Teesdale and beside the river Tyne in Hexham

Butterbur, beside the river Tyne in Hexham yesterday

Elm flowering on the edge of woodland near Wolsingham, Weardale

Yellow star of Bethlehem, locally rare, just coming into bloom during the first week of March, beside the river Wear near Wolsingham, Weardale. I've known this small population for over 40 years and it is increasing very slowly.

Opposite-leaved golden saxifrage, in Teesdale and at Hexham in Tynedale

Hairy bittercress, infesting my garden and already producing seed pods

Primroses in the snow in my garden

Wood anemones in woodland beside the river Tees at Egglestone

Barren strawberry growing in an old wall in Teesdale

Some early blackthorn blossom, from the beginning of the month

Cherry-plum at Willington in the Wear valley. The earliest blossom was damaged by freezing temperatures and snow

Male flowers of dog's mercury, in a woodland in Teesdale

Stinking hellebore flowering near Hawthorn Dene on the Durham coast, at the beginning of the month

Winter aconites flowered at the end of February and had run to seed by early March. These are in the churchyard at Wolsingham in Weardale.

Dog violets, flowering in my garden today

Yellow star of Bethlehem

Today's Guardian Country Diary describes a search for yellow star of Bethlehem Gagea lutea, an elusive little lily that I first found in Weardale 40 years ago and which still grows in exactly the same spot, beside the river Wear at Wolsingham.

The individual flowers are a little smaller than a lesser celandine and only develop this vibrant yellow colour for a day or two.

This is the whole inflorescence, where you can see that the flowers are pale green when they open, only developing their full colour when they are ready for pollination, after which they quickly fade. The backs of the tepals remain green, making it very inconspicuous when they are facing downwards. It's an early bloomer, often in late March or early April - but not this year, when it didn't put in an appearance until the end of the month.

The plants are small and hard to spot amongst the ground elder, sweet cicely and ramsons leaves. This photo was taken on 29th. April and by now the plants will be completely hidden under the surrounding vegetation. If you double-click for a larger image you'll see two plants in flower - one just to the right of centre and the other in the centre of the top left-hand quadrant.