Summer's silent beauty.

The countryside is ablaze with wildflowers this time of the year and you can feel spoilt for choice where to look next. There is one, though, that sits back from the crowd and can go unnoticed, and is the opposite of its cultivated cousin which adorns gardens up and down the country and is the prime focus of attention at flower shows. What is this enigma of flowers?  Wild rose (Rosa canina) or dog rose as it known in parts of the country.

The dog rose is the most commonest wild rose in Britain with pale pink or white flowers and fragrant. It is not, though, as sweet-scented as the cultivated ones which again adds to its mystic. It is a tall, stout shrub, 1-3m high, with large curved thorns.  The fruits are typically red and egg-shaped.

The common and scientific name comes from the Latin "Canis", dog, which is thought to be alluding to the plants inferiority - others think it may be referring to the plants use in veterinary medicine.  Other common names are common brier and dog brier.

Dog Rose

Dog Rose

Dog Rose thorns