New Year Plant Hunt 2025
People all over the British Isles meet up with friends over the New Year period to enjoy a walk in the outdoors while spotting as many plants in flower as they can. For the third year, a group from Newport Methodist Church has joined in.
Our walk took us down to the Quay and via the footpath under the road to the cycleway which runs behind the houses on the east side of Fairlee Road. We followed this for about ½ a mile before crossing the main road to the arboretum and riverside walk back to the harbour.
We found 35 plants in flower, including those you would expect at this time, of year such as winter heliotrope and primrose, as well as a few early ones like lesser celandine. There were a lot still ‘hanging on’ (as we hadn’t had much in the way of frost) such as white dead nettle, smooth hawkbit and annual mercury.
These observations were sent to the BSBI (Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland) and added to those of the other 2091 groups who’d been out plant hunting. Countrywide, nearly 25,000 records were collected, and these help us to understand how our flowering plants are faring in a changing climate. In the ‘league table’ of longest lists, we were 126= and you can see all the details here.
We all enjoyed each other’s company as we walked in our local patch of God’s creation, and we’ll plan to go for another Plant Hunt next year!
Upper left: lesser celandine
Upper right: winter heliotrope
Middle right: primrose
Lower left to right: white dead-nettle, smooth hawk’s-beard, annual mercury