Wild flowers in the woods...

Gentiana

I'm sure it must have been the same in the UK too, but over here spring seemed to arrive overnight, waking up the plants and hibernating butterflies alike. In the woods I came across the usual springtime wildflowers along with a few that I had never seen before, such as the one here.

Gentiana has long been used for its medicinal properties concerning digestive problems, but its roots also serve as a key ingredient in tonic drinks and act as flavouring for several French liqueurs (Suze, amongst others) along with certain Polish vodkas.

I liked the downy stems and leaves...

I had just been hoping to find some violets and therefore was very surprised to stumble across this beautiful royal purple flower which seemed more suited to alpine areas. The leaves look like those of cultivated anemones, or the wild ones that were to be seen everywhere.

Cultivated anemone that wasn't to be found in the woods!

The violets were certainly out in great number, situated in the every spot likely to catch the sunlight. The colours were magical since apart from their bright-green furled leaves, there was not much green foliage and most of the buds had not even burst open on the trees....

Unfortunately my camera just can't cope with the combination of the violets' colour and sunlight and so I can never do the beauty of these flowers any justice!

Purple blurr...

This time there was a carpet of what I assume were periwinkle flowers...

Their jewel-like colours, with bold petals and bright, waxy leaves lit up the woodland floor.

Meanwhile the wood anemones studded other spaces with the delicate white petals...

Wood anemones

While I was looking at the flowers I suddenly caught sight of a deer leaping away in the undergrowth. The woodland is maintained throughout the year, to keep it in order and to provide timber, but this also makes it hunter-friendly.

Pink blush on the underside of the petals...

 The whole area is criss-crossed with heavy-duty tracks for the smooth passage of foresters and walkers alike, but also facilitates the 'work' of these hunters, who come back with trucks laden with their game - usually the wild boar that populate the woods.

The innocent-looking wood anemone...

All of this means that the woods do not really give you the impression of being very wild, although I would not like to cross tracks with a boar! The most popular areas can seem quite tame, with fencing, car parks etc and can get busy at the weekends. However it is easy to lose your way as the paths look very similar...

Cowslips and anemones

Clusters of cowslips with their tall, furry stems and bunched-up flowers were scattered everywhere. These are probably a little more friendly to their human admirers than the anemone which is said to have toxic substances that act as an irritant.

Of course the cowslips look like elongated versions of the primrose... Their pastel colours are a little more subtle than the other yellows that I came across...

Coltsfoot  (I think...)

The coltsfoot head is a little like the dandelion, without the smooth stem and rich leaves of course...

The bright, sunny yellow is the same as the dandelion's however, and is reflected in the colour of celandines too...

Celandines

And in the golden pollen exploding from the catkins too...

All of this springtime colour was quite in contrast with the bare-branched trees, and the dried-leaf litter on the ground...

However, there were a few treasures to be seen, left over from the winter months...

A thistly crown... and strange forms...

A cleft-footed tree trunk, and curious gemstones...

Fungus lace!

 The colours of these reminded me of slices of geode...

I forgot to touch them to feel their texture. The one below should feel like paper or bark...

This one has seaweed colours, but I don't know if it was actually slimy to the touch....

However, I did touch the frogspawn below, which felt just as gelatinous as it looks on the photo!

I didn't find any toadspawn (no future princes to be had), but I did find the entrance to a fairy-tale castle...

And I discovered the mysterious ruin of a summer house, or hunter's lodge...

Clad in ivy, of course, which keeps its jewel-coloured leaves all year round...

I'm sure that all the trees now have their tender young leaves unfurled from the buds so the woods must have been transformed again since last weekend.

We don't have a garden anymore, but I did successfully transport some of our old violet plants from the house before leaving, so we do have a mini-spring time on our window ledge... All I'm waiting for now are the blue tits.