Isn’t cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) just marvellous? In May the roadsides become frothy and playful, and rather fun, until a goon clutching a strimmer butchers these gorgeous white umbellifers. Cow parsley, or Queen Anne’s Lace, if you’re introducing it to someone important, is a terribly savvy wildflower. Where strong agricultural fertilisers killed off many meadow flowers, this plant gobbles up as many nutrients as it can. Rumour even has it that cow parsley enjoys a good draught of nitrogen-rich car fumes. Whatever it is, it makes May quite the most perfect month.
