A Botanical Journey mostly from Kent & SE England

I wanted to find the uncommon Marsh Valerian at this Kent Wildlife Trust reserve, however I didn't know where to look, so a tour of the whole reserve looked likely. It was a red hot sunny day, so conditions weren't good for photographs. When I parked I found a meadow full of Cuckooflowers, photos never do these sights justice, but it was really nice to see, with many Orange Tip butterflies on the flowers. Cardamine pratensis The soils on most of the site were acid which favoured sedges, rushes and this Pendulous Sedge, a tall easy to recognise plant. Carex pendula Numerous Yellow Pimpernels lined the path verges. The similar Creeping Jenny can be confused with this but it flowers later and its leaves are rounded. The Pimpernels' leaves are pointed. Lysimachia nemorum Patches of the delightful Wood Sorrel were dotted here and there. I like the lilac veins on the pure white of the petals. Oxalis acetosella

The National Trust own the path from above Dover port all the way to the South Foreland Lighthouse near St. Margarets at Cliffe. It's an amazing stretch of chalk grassland where there is always plenty to see. The vast open expanse, cliff edges, Dover port, wartime installations and of course France! As we walked along the path from the National Trust car park I kept a look out for the rare Early Spider Orchid which favours poor soil on chalk. I quickly found some but they were behind a fence on a near vertical slope so no photos could be taken. I hoped I would find some more on the walk later. Right by the car park was some Herb Robert, but the flowers were all white which I've only seen in one other place in Kent. Geranium robertianum I decided to walk close to the cliff edge within sensible reason of course! This area was most likely to have rarer plants through lack of competition from vigourous species. This is