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Lock GatesFriday, 7th December 2001, West Yorkshire |
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THE OLD LOCK GATES support a hanging garden of weeds and wild flowers. There are seedheads of Annual Meadow Grass, a clump of Clover and rosettes of Dandelion and Spear Thistle. Groundsel, Sowthistle, Nettle and Curled Dock, 
all weeds of disturbed ground, have found their way onto the weathered woodwork. There are also plenty leaves of what appear to be Forget-me-Nots.
Cushion moss thrives in damper conditions on the lower part of the gate while in the shadiest hollows between the uprights there's a luxuriant growth of dark green liverwort.Hartstongue Fern
is confined to crevices in the stonework on the north-facing bank of the canal.In a situation like this, binoculars are as useful for plant-spotting as they would normally be for bird-spotting.
Richard Bell,
wildlife illustrator
E-mail; 'richard@willowisland.co.uk'