I went out for a walk early this morning and played the Blue Course this evening. It is good to see that the rain has softened the turf somewhat, although the lush greens and tees still stand out from the browns of the fairways and rough. Towards the end of summer most of the flowers have gone over, but one of Frilford's specialities, Grass of Parnassus flowers at the end of August and can be found in Two-Pine Fen on the 4th of the Green course. I could only see a couple of flowers so I suspect that a lot may be over by now. These are the most southerly plants of this species in the UK, although they are more common in Europe, particulary in the mountains.
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| Grass-of-Parnassus Parnassia palustris [4th Green] |
Also flowering nearby is Devil's Bit Scabious with it's characteristic purple flowerheads on long stems. This plant is uncommon in Oxfordshire, but is doing well at Frilford and occurs along the stream from Two Pine Fen and into Boundary Fen on the 13th Red.
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| Devil's bit Scabious Succisa pratensis [4th Green] |
Other late flowerers include Duke of Argyll's Teaplant [13th Red] and Common Heather, which grows best on the 15th Red.
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| Duke of Argyll's Teaplant Lycium barbarum [13th Red] |
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| Heather Calluna vulgaris [15th Red] |
Playing this evening I came across three of the resident Red-legged Partidges on the 17th Blue.
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| Red-legged Partridges [17th Blue] |
At the end of the round I found another Hummingbird Hawk Moth on the flowers near the clubhouse. It has been a good summer for these insects in the UK where they have been appearing in good numbers.
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| Hummingbird Hawk Moth Macroglossum stellatarum [2nd Green] |
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