Floral Overload

Campanula Patula

Digitalis grandis thrives in shady places

Although we travelled near and far during our week in Transylvania and I enjoyed every minute,  I could equally well have spent a deliriously happy week just botanising in the species-rich meadows around the hotel.  Yellow rattle was the  dominant plant in many of the pastures, ensuring the low fertility which allows wild flowers to thrive.  Glossy yellow trollius hovered above fragrant orchids, clovers, campanulas, geraniums, oxeye daisies, Vipers Bugloss, ajugas, scabious, thyme, thistles, hyssop, salvias and dianthus (to name but a few).  This richness is thanks to a combination of terrain (too steep for machinery) and traditional methods (meadows cut by hand and only grazed by sheep, never cattle or horses).

The meadow next to the guesthouse thick with yellow rattle, trollius, clover and fragrant orchids