All the wet weather we’ve been having has turned the olive grove into a jungle. With wildflowers growing waist-high, mowing (which we’ve just started) is an epic task, so there’s just time to enjoy the final blooms of the spring wildflowers which have taken over the grove. I’ve done my best to identify them, but apologies for any mistakes.
Heartsease (Viola tricolor)
Sage-leaved rock rose (Cistus salvifolius)
Common andryala (Andryala integrifolia)
Field poppy (Papaver rhoeas)
Field marigolds, poppies and blackberry flowers
Field marigolds (Chrysnathemum segetum)
Field marigold (Chrysnathemum segetum)
Cypress spurge (Euphorbia cyparissias)
Blackberry (Rubus)
Purple viper’s bugloss (Echium plantagineum)
Purple viper’s bugloss (Echium plantagineum)
Purple viper’s burgloss growing under the olive trees
Bladder campion (Silene vulgaris)
Tassel Hyacinth (Muscari comosum)
Heartsease (Viola tricolor)
Notes from a Tuscan Olive Grove 
i adore wild flowers…how wonderful
They’re lovely, aren’t they.
Delightful ! Thant you for stopping by so that I could discover your wonderful site !! Grazie 🙂
Thank you for visiting, I’m glad you enjoyed reading.
Absolutely stunning.
I am sure you’ve got the right names for these delightful flowers as I’m trying to learn them off by heart from your post!
Identifying them is very satisfying… Enjoy your wildflower spotting!
So many wonderful wildflowers. The poppies, especially, but also the purple viper’s bugloss – love the name and the flower.
Apparently it used to be used as an antidote for snake bites. It’s beautiful, but I agree, nothing can compete with the poppies.
Lovely! 🙂
Yes they are, aren’t they?!
A beautiful collection of wild flowers and thanks for following me 🙂
Thanks for visiting and following!
Great pictures and I like the names of the flowers too!
Me too. Especially ‘bladder campion’ and ‘viper’ bugloss’, so evocative.
Me too, especially ‘bladder campion’ and ‘viper’s bugloss’, so evocative.
Wonderful little flowers.
What lovely photos of the wildflowers–and unlike me, you know all their names.
Hopefully I’ve identified them correctly!
That must be quite some mowing job. Lovely to see the flowers before they get the chop!
The meadow has its own beauty and charm dotted with these wonderful wildflowers. Tassel Hyacinth is new to me and I like the form and color. Susie
I like the hyacinths too, beautiful in a strange way.
Such beautiful wildflowers, I also have never seen the Tassel Hyacinth, which really stand out against the other meadow flowers and grasses. Lovely to see all the wonderful habitats among the Olive groves! Becky
Yes the tassel hyacinths are strange among the other more delicate flowers, aren’t they. Beautiful in their own way though. Glad you enjoyed looking at the olive grove, how could I not share such beautiful plants?!
Great blog and wonderful images of so many of the same beautiful flowers that we have here in our olive groves in lovely Lunigiana. Just thought you might appreciate knowing that the plant you have identified as Andryala integrifolia is actually Urospermum dalechampii, which has the lovely common name of ‘smooth golden fleece’.
Thanks, I’ll update the caption! Lunigiana is wonderful (I love the name too), enjoy your flowers while they are still blooming – the really hot weather will be here soon!
The long wet winter and unsettled spring has had a mixed affect on the wildflowers in the Lunigiana. Some appear to have benefitted while others are either missing or have occurred in fewer numbers. This has had a knock on effect with the fauna and the livelihoods of our farming neighbours. Without a sufficient number consecutive dry days, the first cut of hay has mostly rotted on the ground, which has attracted the wild boar and caused further damage to an already difficult situation. Hopefully, the weather will now stabilise and the second cut will be a prolific success. There were mixed fortunes with the harvest, too. The olive quality and yield was fabulous but the figs are a disaster. How were the winter and spring in your part of Toscana?
This is my first year here so I can’t compare personally, but I’ve been told that the wildflowers are abundant this year. Some of my garden plants, however, such as lavender, have rotted and died with all the rain. I am amazed at the amount of water we’ve had, and that the strange weather has continued into June.
In Montalbano the weather seems to have been good for olives and grapes, the vines and trees are flourishing and a wet spring is good, providing we have lots of sun from now on so that the fruits can develop. Olives tend to have alternate good and bad harvests regardless of weather, so we’re expecting a lower yield than last year when many trees were full, (although not all our trees are on the same cycle). The fig trees in our olive grove are laden with fruit and looking good – again we just need the rain to stop now and the sun to come out so the figs can ripen.
You have many lovely wildflowers growing, what a wonderful natural meadow!