Heracleum sphondylium | hogweed
An easily overlooked wildlife wonder
I used to overlook common hogweed, thinking it too bulky to be attractive, until we moved to Yorkshire. Then I became much more obsessed with it. Hogweed grows in our garden, which gave me the opportunity to study it closely, becoming more familiar with the way it grows. Very quickly I fell in love with its large beautiful umbels that flower after cow parsley, continuing to pop up here and there for the rest of summer.