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Mark (Out and About in Thetford)
It’s always interesting at this time of year to see what comes up.
In the last few weeks as I go round the town I’ve spotted the masses of small white flowers of Danish scurvy-grass by the sides of the main A134 Bury Road – it’s a saltmarsh plant, but wherever roads are treated with salt in the winter in can thrive far inland.
![](https://stnicholashospice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/mark-garden-1.png)
Opposite Nunnery Drive on Nun’s Bridges Road is a patch of Spring Beauty, a weird-looking plant with white flowers apparently growing out of the middle of its leaves.
![](https://stnicholashospice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/mark-garden-2-1-225x300.jpg)
White is definitely the theme for this month: down at Nun’s Bridges there is an avenue of Plane trees, and next to them are patches of the bright green leaves of Garlic Mustard, or Jack-by-the-hedge as it is also known, also with small white flowers. This is the foodplant of the Orange tip butterfly, now on the wing.
![](https://stnicholashospice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/mark-garden-3-1-300x225.jpg)
Also nearby is a whitebeam tree, whose fresh young leaves with the white undersides give the tree its name.
![](https://stnicholashospice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/mark-garden-4-300x225.jpg)
Walk across the footbridge towards Ford Meadow and you can still just about see the mass of frothy flowers of bird cherry which are now going over.
![](https://stnicholashospice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/mark-garden-5-300x225.jpg)
A massive trunk has fallen here, but a line of ‘mini-trees’ takes its place!
![](https://stnicholashospice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/mark-garden-6-300x225.jpg)
But there’s also blue flowers about: masses of ground-ivy – no relation to ivy – carpet the earth in some sandy places.
![](https://stnicholashospice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/mark-garden-7-300x225.jpg)
And there are escaped forget-me-knots in places, notably coating the ramparts in Castle Park.
![](https://stnicholashospice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/mark-garden-8-300x225.jpg)
Now I just need to find some red flowers to complete a patriotic celebration of the 75th anniversary of VE-day – any ideas?
Mark Webster, Countryside & Planning Officer, Thetford Town Council.