Amy Adwan

16/07/2023

Looking back on how this plant hobby has grown, during a time when I did so much growing myself, is truly wonderful ✨ Growing plants has taught me so much about life and how to care for myself, while nurturing and deepening a connection to nature that I’ve always felt most comfortable in 🌱 Sharing this with others in my latest YouTube video as a sort of mindful walk through, showing each plant has brought up some feels of where this all started 🥰 Three years after starting my channel it’s funny to think of how s**t my plants used to look 😂 Trust me it wasn’t as lush as this!!

26/05/2023

Lucky enough to come across one of Ireland’s rarest butterflies yesterday morning - the Pearl bordered fritillary (Clossiana euphrosyne) found only in the Burren region! Seen flying through hazel scrub on my route to lough gealáin in the early morning to ID some orchids 🪻This beauty is not protected in Ireland despite being one of our rarest on the Island 🦋

22/05/2023

Cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae) in a sand dune habitat in Sligo the other week ❤️ 🍀

23/04/2023

Beautiful Spring gentian (Gentiana verna) in the Burren 🤍 Such a stark colour in this landscape. So excited for the next few months of flowering plants here! 🌱

Classed as ‘Near Threatened’ on the Red Data List of Vascular Plants 2016.

16/04/2023

First time taking the drone out for a play and 🥹 Mullaghmore and lough gealain looking fine 💧

02/11/2022

The Cyprus frog (Pelophylax cypriensis) is endemic to Cyprus, meaning it can only be found on this Island 🧡

19/10/2022

Beautiful Painted lady 🧡 Vanessa cardui ✨

05/08/2022

A Six-spot Burnet Moth (Zygaena filipendulae) having little a rest on a Fragrant Orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea) in the Burren last weekend 🤍✨

19/07/2022

Pitcher plants ✨

I really enjoyed the Sarracenia display at the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland. While looking at these amazing flowers, all I could think was who pollinates them, and how do they make sure the traps don’t eat the pollinators?!

Apparently this is a common issue for pitcher plants. A carnivorous species, the traps are modified leaves that capture insects and this is how the plant gets nutrients in generally low nutrient habitats. However, the plant still needs to make seeds!

It seems that in general the flowers are on a tall stalk, high above the leaves. The flower emerges first, to allow the pollinators to visit, before the leaves start to emerge. Of course this is not always the case but it’s the aim.

The pollinators are wide ranging and as with all carnivorous plants, require more study. The one way system of this flower has been visited though by bees, flies, beetles and ants. It is also assumed that moths may play a part due to their increased fragrance at night ❤️

05/07/2022

Northern Gannets!! ✨🤍

Personally I think this is my favourite seabird 🤭 Such an unbelievably striking bird - staring into those icy cold eyes is something else!

These seabirds are the largest in their family, with a wingspan of up to 180cm ⭐️ There are large breeding colonies across the coasts of Ireland, with the largest on Little Skellig in Co. Kerry.

One of the coolest things about Gannets (Morus bassanus) is their feeding behaviour - Diving from heights of 40m, reaching speeds of up to 100km/h, allowing them to feed on average up to 20m below the surface. Their bodies are specially designed to protect them from injury while they plunge 🤯

18/06/2022

Bee Orchid! 🐝🌸
I’ve been trying to get a photo of this one since last June but wasn’t so lucky last year! The Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera) is such a striking and amazing plant, of course visually, but also for so many other reasons ✨

Not only does it display floral mimicry by appearing as the abdomen of a bee, it also has an amazing selective and evolved pollinator relationship. Although this plant is considered to prefer self pollination in its northern range - in the Mediterranean region this is not the case. The flowers emit a type of pheromone that mimics that of a female bee (known as chemosensory mimicry) encouraging male species to copulate with the flower, and thus eventually this results in pollination. You can see the seed pods behind spent flowers in the photos here 🌱

This plant is native in Ireland but does have a wide range across Europe and the Mediterranean. It’s not protected in the Republic but it is in Northern Ireland ✨ So happy to capture this one 🤍

15/06/2022

SUNDEWS 😍
This is the Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) and is a native Irish carnivorous plant 🔥 Found in wet boggy and heath habitats with low nutrients, this plant sustains itself by trapping prey. The sticky leaves act like glue that trap small insects, which are eventually digested by fluids released by this amazing plant ✨ The plant is very small and rarely reaches over 20cm in height.
Interestingly, this plant was historically used as a cough remedy and is now used in pharmaceutical cough mixtures 🤯 It is also known to have anti-inflammatory effects.

20/05/2022

Biodiversity Week! 🌼✨🤍 .
Let’s talk about 🤍 No mow May encourages people to not cut their lawns for the entire month of May. This initiative has had a tenfold increase in the mount of nectar available to bees and other pollinators 🐝 Today is also . Not mowing your lawn is the easiest way to increase biodiversity in your area - our lawns can be diverse places and home to so much wildlife.
Ideally, don’t mow your lawn ever 🫢 Change your concept of gardening and instead aim to create wild areas of benefit to all flora and fauna. This doesn’t have to be your whole garden but instead can mean wild edges and borders. The easiest way to do this - is to do nothing!!

19/05/2022

Biodiversity Week! 🌼✨
Woodlands are among some of my favourite habitats to explore. The sounds and the smells are the best mindfulness exercise. In Ireland, exploring them during heavy rain is my favourite 🤫
Not only are native woodlands so important as carbon sinks, they are among the most diverse habitats creating homes for an abundance of flora species, fungi, mammals, bats and birds. Imagine if Ireland replaced all commercial forestry plantations with this and restored our landscape back to what it once was! 😍
Pictured: Wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa) ✨ .

18/05/2022

Biodiversity Week ✨💧
I don’t post as often about rivers on my page as I used to - as my work has veered away from that in recent years. Freshwater habitats are some of the most diverse and endangered wildlife on earth 🌊 In Ireland we have a long way to go as far as protecting our rivers and ensuring legislation is updated, old practises are left behind and attitudes shifted. Nearly half of all our rivers have unsatisfactory water quality and harmful drainage schemes still occur throughout the country. We need healthy freshwater ecosystems to survive … for our livelihoods, food, energy and wellbeing💧
This is the beautiful Morningstar River in Bruff in Co. Limerick. Home to dippers, brown trout, damselflies and dragonflies, white-clawed crayfish, an abundance of native emergent vegetation and trees and so much more ❤️

17/05/2022

Biodiversity week! 🌸🎉

Wanted to share this gorgeous Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) from earlier this year in Kerry. These birds are distinguished from our other crows by those bright red legs and red down-curved bill ✨ These are coastal birds that breed in crevices and caves, and they have a distinctive call 🦻🏼
These birds pair for life and stick with the same nesting spots, which make them vulnerable to decline. This is an Annex I species under the Birds Directive and it's protected due to its declining population. If you're lucky enough to see them, you'll notice their amazing flight patterns - swooping, diving, and even sometimes
flying upside down! 🤸🏼‍♀️

17/05/2022

Biodiversity week! 🌸🎉

Wanted to share this gorgeous Chough (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) from earlier this year in Kerry. These birds are distinguished from our other crows by those bright red legs and red down-curved bill ✨ These are coastal birds that breed in crevices and caves, and they have a distinctive call 🦻🏼
These birds pair for life and stick with the same nesting spots, which make them vulnerable to decline. This is an Annex I species under the Birds Directive and it’s protected due to its declining population. If you’re lucky enough to see them, you’ll notice their amazing flight patterns - swooping, diving, and even sometimes flying upside down! 🤸🏼‍♀️

16/05/2022

It’s Biodiversity Week! 🌸
Biodiversity Week in Ireland runs from the 13th of May until the 22nd and aims to engage the public in a wide range of nature based activities 🎉 There are a huge number of events on every day, both online and in person ✨ You can check out what’s on in your area on biodiversityweek.ie .
I’ll be sharing some of my favourite flora and fauna on my page this week to celebrate - and there will be two new videos on my YouTube channel this week as well 🥰 One is an Outdoor Garden update and the second is all about Wildflower meadows & Biodiversity 🌼 Will you be taking part this week?
Pictured is the amazing Bloody Crane’s-bill (Geranium sanguineum) from yesterday’s hike on Slieve Carran in the Burren. Such a great time to see all that is in bloom! ✨

24/04/2022

Greater stitchwort (Stellaria holostea) 🤍 In many parts of Europe this plant used to be used as a cure for pains in your side, or ‘stitches’ ✨

24/03/2022

Frog Spawn to Tadpole in 6 Weeks | Common Frog (Rana temporaria)

Hope you enjoy watching Common Frog (Rana Temporaria) develop from frog spawn to tadpoles in just 6 weeks! Filmed in a small drain in Ireland in 2021, this v...

23/03/2022

FROG SPAWN 🤍

I may be a bit late to but this has been a while in the making. In 2021 I documented Common frog (Rana temporaria) frog spawn developing over 6 weeks in a blocked drain beside the River Shannon - the video is now live on YouTube. Link is in my bio!
Common frog are Ireland’s only native frog species. They use damp habitats such as drains, woodlands, bogs, fens and gardens. The habitats they utilise are varied but all require freshwater elements to breed 💚
While they rely on wetland habitats, terrestrial elements of their range are also very important. It must be rough, with long grass and some woodland scrub for foraging; as well as suitable sites for hibernation. Common frog frequently use large stones, old logs, piles of autumn leaves and compost heaps for hibernating 😴
Have you seen any frog spawn in your area? If so, please tag me in posts / stories and I will share! 😍
*filming was undertaken under licence from NPWS. Frogs are protected under the Wildlife Act and a licence is required to photograph or film on or near breeding places*

🐸

14/03/2022

Who here is starting to feel the beautiful signs of spring? 🤍 🍃

Snowdrops are one of the first flowers to emerge in the early cold days of spring ✨ In the lily family, Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) are naturalised in Ireland. I personally love the irish for these - Plúirín sneachta ❄️

13/03/2022

Branches for Climbing Houseplants | How I Use Them 🍃
https://youtu.be/kHtgJoPH3gM

If you have any questions about the process that I didn't answer in the video please comment below and I'll get back to you! Also, if you use branches for cl...

24/02/2022

Curlew (Numenius arquata) on the Boyne Estuary - February 2022 ✨

The Boyne Estuary is a designated Special Protection Area (SPA) for 11 different bird species and the wetland habitats they utilise 🎉 Curlew, like many birds here, have this amazing specially designed beak for digging out prey from the mudflats 🤍

You may have heard of this species due to their rapidly declining breeding population in Ireland, for which the species is red-listed. There are large numbers on the coast in Winter - but inland during the breeding season - the number of viable chicks produced each year continue to plummet. This is mainly due to agricultural practises and land use changes 💔

15/02/2022

Biodiversity is the biological variety and variability on Earth. It is the diversity of all living things, so that ecosystems can work efficiently and with balance.

🌱A huge part of that is our native species, which are specifically designed to thrive in our environment. Each species has a function and a role of great importance, having knock on effects by supporting other species in their survival.

🌱Selecting native species in gardening therefore can benefit the ecology of this Island, by providing shelter, breeding areas and essential food sources for our already struggling species. I came across .ie in my search to find native seeds to plant to encourage biodiversity outdoors and I really resonate with their message ❤️

🌱Connecting with nature are on a mission to increase happiness levels ✨ Studies have shown that growing wildflowers and feeding wild birds increases our connection with nature, leading to feelings of wellness. Providing support to these species in need, in turn supports our wellbeing.

🌱Based in Co. Waterford, they produce their own native seeds and work together with the people of Ireland to produce products that benefit our environment. They also supply wild bird food that is specifically designed for Irish birds 🐦 I thought some of you may enjoy their products as much I do, so I asked them for a discount code 🌱

✨ Use code AMYFEB at the checkout for 10% off your total order ☺️ I will also be doing an exciting giveaway in the next week or two, so keep your eyes peeled and save this post so you don’t miss out! 🤍✨

09/02/2022

Still not over these variegated hibiscus blooms ❤️ Breathtaking each time a new one opens. It’s still blooming 1.5 months after the first one, even with a house move in between 🥺

18/01/2022

Winter Heliotrope (Petasites pyrenaicus - formerly Petasites fragrans) ❌

An invasive species here in Ireland, this plant is well established. A ground cover plant found on roadsides, woodland, damp habitats and waste or cultivated ground. It flowers from November to March so the flower spikes are visible during the winter months 🌸
This plant is rhizomatous - meaning it grows by creeping underground stems making it very hard to get rid of. These stems can have new shoots along their route and therefore aid in its spread. So not only does it reproduce vegetatively, but also it’s seeds are spread by wind dispersal ✨ However, it is widely reported that there are no male flowers here in Ireland so they are not capable of fertilising - thus the spread here is mostly vegetative.
Like many invasives, this sweet smelling garden escape outcompetes our native ground cover species. If you have positively identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the 🙏🏼

25/12/2021

Merry Christmas Everyone 🌲❤️✨ Snippet from my latest upload to YT. Link is in my bio if you’re interested 🤍