Michelle Salter writes:
If you catch the scent of fried onions as you walk through Brookly Glade this week, it’s not your imagination. Amongst the beeches in the glade, alliums are currently in flower and giving off a strong, oniony fragrance. The variety here is the Caucasus immigrant, Allium paradoxum, known as Few-flowered leek or garlic. Part of Brookly Glade was once a privately owned garden, hence the number of imported flora in this part of the nature reserve. The British variety, Three-cornered leek, has a three-cornered cross-section of the stem and is larger and smellier than our imports.
After I’d photographed the alliums, I turned to find I was being watched. A pair of roe deer were standing under the trees on the other side of the fence, enjoying the sunshine. They didn’t appear to be disturbed by my presence and this fellow obligingly posed for the camera.
Picture credits: Michelle Salter