Moon cycle:
- New Moon: 27th April 2025
- Full Moon: 12th May 2025
- New Moon: 27th May 2025
Ancient Wisdom
We often refer to First Nations’ North American names for the monthly moons and with good reason. Although these people were systematically persecuted and nearly wiped out by European settlers, their strong cultures have persisted. Within these are stories and ways of living passed down orally through multiple generations that reveal a perception of the planet which is very different to those of ‘modern’ people such as most of us who live in the UK.
First Nation and other indigenous people across the world pay daily attention to constellations, the sun, moon phases and the changing seasons and see them as part of the rich tapestry of life which interacts with and influences the land, flora and fauna. They respect and venerate this view of life and develop wisdom from it in conjunction with that gleaned from their ancestors. In effect this guides them along a path of sustainable living which is in harmony with nature rather than trying to exploit it for short-term material gains for the sake of ‘progress’ and economic growth. They see themselves as custodians of the planet and as part of its systems due to an imperative to nurture and regenerate for the sake of future generations.
Photo © David Dixon
Milk Moon
With all this in mind, it’s interesting to delve into our own indigenous cultures which have largely been obliterated by technological progress and the accompanying damage to people and planet. Consequently, the following information about the May Moon is based upon Germanic and Anglo Saxon cultures dating back over a thousand years. Some of these have survived and are present in modern day English in certain country areas. For example, the Anglo Saxons referred to the Thrimilce Moon, meaning cows could start to be milked three times a day due to the May grass growing faster. This is where we get the ‘Milk Moon’ name. In old high German the May Moon is called ‘Wunnemanoth’ (‘Merry Moon’), although ‘Wunne’ might also mean pasture which fits the Milk Moon scenario.
Cuckoo Moon
In old Norse, this moon is called ‘Gaukmanather’ (month of the Cuckoo) or Sathtith (time of sowing).
These old names can be quite revealing when it comes to tracking climate change and biodiversity loss. For example, the ‘Cuckoo Moon’ descriptor is becoming redundant in many areas of the UK and Europe because there are fewer cuckoos these days. This has been linked to their different wintering routes to and from Africa. They are also suffering due to habitat loss in Europe where they need to reproduce each spring. An old country poem goes like this:
The Cuckoo comes in April
Sings in the month of May
Changes its tune in the middle of June
And in July he flies away.
Rudyard Kipling also wrote a famous poem about the cuckoo. Wouldn’t it be a pity if future generations never experienced hearing or seeing this magnificent bird. If it disappeared all the prose and poetry associated with it would soon become redundant, thus dealing another blow to our shared culture.
Another indicator of climate change can be seen in seasons becoming less distinct or coming earlier. For example, an old lady who has a 51 year old daughter born on the 16th May 1973, relates that she used to always associate her daughter’s birthday with the ‘candle blossom’ of the horse chestnut trees where she lived in north London. These days this blossom has often come and gone well before the 16th which makes her very sad. Happily, in the north of England this is not the case and horse chestnut blossom is still in its prime at this time of year.
Photo © David Dixon
Flower moon
The May Moon is also called the Flower Moon. This is because many of the spring flowers are at their best at this time of year. Although daffodils are waning and snow drops and crocuses are long gone, this is the best time to see alkanets, borage, bluebells, cowslips, dandelions, oxeye daisies and wild garlic. Once again, it depends upon where you live in the country as to whether these emerge sooner or later. As a rule of thumb, it appears that northern England is about two weeks behind areas to the south and the south west is the earliest of all. What are the best May flowers in your area? Look carefully because many of them are tiny. Many of these flowering plants can be seen in woodland and they only have a limited window of opportunity because they need to reproduce before all the tree leaves come out and start shading the wood and forest floors. In monoculture pine woods planted deliberately for timber harvesting, there are never spring flowers because there is always shade and the needles acidify the soils which flowering plants often don’t like.
Photo © David Dixon
Medical Plants
As well as identifying May flowers you can also unearth (pun intended) some more of our lost indigenous culture by finding out what they and the rest of the plant were used for. For example, amongst other things dandelion stem sap was thought to stimulate digestion, heal minor skin injuries and support liver health. Many native plants were used in medicine and some of the active compounds have been scientifically proved to work. It’s becoming fashionable to forage for medicinal plants and others that can be eaten. If you do this you are in effect taking part in an ancient UK indigenous practice. Ensure you are familiar though with poisonous plants and warn children not to eat anything without checking. How many May flowers can you identify? Try using Google Lens to help. All you need do is take a picture with a phone and the app does the rest.
So, it’s a merry May Moon from me. Let’s keep noticing the wonders of nature and doing our best to protect and improve it for future generations.
What’s happening where you are?
At this time of year many more flowers starting to bloom. This will also mean that you start to see many more insects, like bees and butterflies that are attracted to these flowers to harvest nectar and pollen. Keep a log of when local plants come into bloom. Climate change is causing UK plants to flower almost a month earlier on average, according to the Woodland Trust. What’s happening where you live? Your class can help track change by submitting data to Nature’s Calendar.
Share your stories!
What stories do children know about May festivals and flowers? What do their parents and grandparents remember about this time of year in their childhood? We invite you to share your suggested Moon names and explain how this reflects nature events where you live. Please tag us in your stories or pictures using the hashtag #EnvironmentalLunacy.
Related activity ideas
Have any cuckoos arrived back in the UK yet from their long migration? Track the progress of cuckoos and see a map of their journey here.
You can use a birdsong app like Merlin to identify birds you hear. They are at their most vocal at this time of year due to maintaining territories, mating rituals and protecting nesting sites.
As the soil has started to warm up, May is also a good time to sow directly into the soil rather than having to start off plants in a greenhouse or window-sill. Some people believe that this can be done best if you use the phases of the moon and there is increasing scientific evidence to back this up. What do you think?
The moon in May can also be called the ‘Hare Moon’. This is because hares become more visible, particularly the males who can be seen ‘boxing’ in open fields as they compete for mates. Visit the Woodland Trust website for more details about this animal and create a fact file.
Hawthorn blossom is called ‘May blossom’ after the month in which it usually blooms, though in some areas of the UK this can be sooner. Learn to identify the hawthorn tree and map where and when this May Blossom is out near you.
General activity ideas
Children are expected learn to use a variety of approaches to answer scientific questions; enquiry should include observing over time; pattern seeking; identifying, classifying and grouping. Wildflowers provide an excellent resource for field-based enquiry. Plants are static but change through time (flowering, seed setting, etc.), and species composition can vary in only a short distance (e.g. ground flora in the open and under heavy shade).
‘The variety of living things in a given place’. Using quadrats (typically one square metre) have children count the number of different plant species rooted within it. A better measure, but more difficult, is to count the number of individuals of each species. A quadrat with 14 species in it may appear more diverse on that simple measure than one with only 10, but one species might dominate the first quadrat in terms of numbers of individuals, and in time may dominate entirely. Children can also compare their findings of diversity along a transect from wet to dry, or open to shady (does deep shade suppress ground flora?)
Resources and useful websites
- There are many good wildflower guides on the market but try to use a guide with illustrations rather than photographs. One of the best guides to wildflowers is Fitter, R., Fitter, A., and Blamey, M. (1978) Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe, Collins. It has a simple but effective pictorial key, and the illustrations are excellent, and copies can be obtained cheaply on-line and in charity shops (photo guides are much less easy to use).
- The Field Studies Council publish excellent fold out guides that focus on wildflowers in specific habitats.
- A range of ID apps exist that allow you to photograph a flower for identification. While helpful to confirm identification it is still better to use a guidebook as the starting point.
- Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland – the BSBI map site provides an introduction to plant identification and distribution maps for individual species of plant.
- There are various sites to help schools develop wildflower plots on the grounds, e.g. Eden Project – ‘Wildflowers in Schools’.
- A year in the life of a hawthorn tree – The Woodland Trust
- Find out more about unusual medicinal plants found across Britain – Countryfile
- Information from the Royal Horticultural Society about the healing properties of plants.
- More cuckoo information can be on the British Trust for Ornithology and Scottish Field websites.
Authored by Dr David Dixon, author and consultant on sustainable schools and leadership for sustainability.