Hedge feathers

This is just one of the 35 local names that Geoffrey Grigson gives for Clematis vitalba in his wonderful book 'The Englishman's Flora'. The commonest names are probably Old Man's Beard and Travellers' Joy. It has to be said that this plant is now a bit of a brute in our countryside and we spend quite a lot of time clearing it from hedgerows and coppices, where it takes over so successfully. However, I was quite pleased to see the lovely seed heads along one stretch of hedgerow today, substituting (in my opinion) for the layer of snow that should be there around this date.