Plants & Flowers
Ryde Cemetery was established on ancient meadow land and has never been subjected to the use of pesticides or herbicides, so in the summer time when the grass is allowed to grow in the Old Parish Cemetery it fills up with beautiful old English meadow flowers.
It seems to be a great year for primroses and as always there are carpets of them throughout Ryde Cemetery.
As is usual for this time of the year the meadow parts of the cemetery are a pretty sight with many tall grasses and wildflowers.
Did you know? The earliest known reference to Daffodils can be found in the 6th century AD writings of the Prophet Mohammed.
In the Victorian ‘Language of Flowers’ the snowdrop is called the flower of hope, its little shoots and snowy buds peeping through in the depths of winter, bringing a promise that spring is on the way. It was also associated with fresh hope as the old year ends and the new one begins.
Our own native honeysuckle is found throughout Ryde cemetery. The common name comes from the Old English hunigsuge or ‘honey-suck’, because the ‘honey’ (or nectar) can be sucked from the flowers.
In February the crocuses began to appear in the Cemetery bringing some welcome colour and a promise that Spring is not far away.
Snowdrops, or Galanthus, which means “milk flower”, to give them their correct name, are the classic winter flowering plant, loved by everyone.
In early June parts of the cemetery are covered with this pretty white flower.
The Ox-Eye daisy is a typical meadow flower; it thrives in a wide range of conditions and prefers heavy and damp soils.
In a part of the Old Parish Cemetery, a small patch of bright colour caught my eye and, getting down on my hands and knees to investigate, I saw what looked like a tiny little orchid.