The trefoil blues..

Common blue butterflies ain’t so common this year.

They’ve only just started making an appearance here.

Tiny flashes of blue travelling around the meadow. Nectaring on clover, knapweed and birds-foot trefoil.

Common blues are quite particular about the food they want their babies to eat: they favour birds-foot trefoil which is low growing with yellow and red pea-like flowers. ‘Eggs and bacon’ is what we called it as a kid.

It’s time for trefoil to grow its seed heads in their characteristic ‘birds foot’ arrangement.

When ripe, the pods pop and the seeds spring out.

I planted about two hundred seedlings this year. I’m

Hoping they last through the dry summer and go in to flower in the spring and summer of next year.

But, I can’t help myself and so, while our older trefoils are seeding generously, I gathered some of the ‘feet’ and have put them to dry. I’ll add them to the seed mix I’m preparing that is intended to rejuvenate a tired part of our tiny meadow.

Who knows - next year could be a sea of (common) blue..