garden withoutdoors

I think these are beaked hawk's-beard (Crepis vesicaria) but I'm not absolutely sure. I saw a lot of this hawk's-beard last spring but these rosettes are earlier and I'm not that confident of my ID but maybe I should be - same location, not dandelion, if not Crepis vesicaria, I don't know what they are yet.

narrow-leaved ragwort (Senecio inaequidens) I saw in east London yesterday

in that area was also hoary mustard

I still love them, starting with a perfect hawkweed oxtongue rosette interspersed with herb robert, chickweed, smooth sow thistle, hairy bittercress and groundsel

loving the geometric buck's-horn plantain, one rosette

two rosette

three rosettes and more

a carpet of buck's-horn plantain rosettes

the ever variable shepherd's purse

a carpet of shepherd's purse

nipplewort

horseweed (Erigeron canadensis or one of the similar ones)

prickly sow thistle

not the usual rosette but rather rosette-like spotted medick (Medicago arabica)

It's been nothing but hoary mustard for months, suddenly hedge mustard is here! (Sisymbrium officinale)

2 overlapping hedge mustard rosettes

hedge mustard rosettes with a smooth or prickly sow thistle in the middle

hedge mustard just forming a rosette

size extremes of rosettes, from a huge spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare) to tiny storks-bill (Erodium cicutarium), shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) and green alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens) (I think - not totally sure on that one)

spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare) initial basal rosette, over 1.2 m so far

a very small rosette on the pavement

a close-up of that rosette, I think it's green alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens) but I will keep an eye on it

storks-bill rosettes, the one on the right is tiny

the environment where some very rosettes are growing in the cracks, including shepherd's purse

that tiny shepherd's purse rosette from above, small but perfectly formed

It was a somewhat grey miserable day yesterday but I had to go to the post office and drop off a book so I was able to observe some plants and of course, I had to take some photos.

cat's-ear rosette

another cat's-ear

Japanese knotweed

autumn hawkbit which has already bloomed

hawkweed oxtongue

bristly oxtongue

winter heliotrope

left to right, hellebore, pulmonaria, winter heliotrope

the hellebore was just starting to bloom

left to right, smooth sow thistle, horseweed, dandelion

I continue to see lots of hoary mustard (Hirschfeldia incana) - it is this year? or just a reflection of the places I walk to?

on my favourite railway bridge I also continue to see hawkweed oxtongue rosettes

I also saw some red clover

I was surprised to see this buck's-horn plantain on the pavement - and in bud. 

close-up view

wider view of the entire plant

I love access to the railway line - a guaranteed isolated area for wild flowers to grow. The problem is so many of the railway lines in London are fenced off, walled off, inaccessible. This one area of the north London line where the Overground and freight trains run is at least visible through railings which allow my small camera to fit through so I can take photos and I don't see evidence of weedkiller along the tracks recently. 

And as a bonus the Post Office Tower is visible in the distance.

This is the year (or time of year) of hoary mustard (Hirschfeldia incana)! I have seen so much of it, especially along the railway line here.

hoary mustard in front of the railings and behind the railings to the right, hawkweed oxtongue to the left behind the railings, Post Office Tower in the distance

this line runs underneath the line above, smooth sow thistle and hoary mustard

Oxford ragwort (Senecio squalidus), famous for spreading along the railway lines of Britain

Oxford ragwort on the left, hoary mustard on the right

purple toadflax and hawkweed oxtongue

hawkweed oxtongue (Picris hieraciodes)

a huge hawkweed oxtongue initial basal rosette

aster amellus, Michaelmas daisy in flower

aster amellus Michaelmas daisy in bud

toadflax (Linaria vulgaris)

more toadflax with a dandelion amongst it

stinging nettle nearby with huge leaves

I saw a lot of rosettes yesterday, some before the flowers grew but some with flowers where the rosette was still there.

Shepherd's purse, quite variable. Sometimes there's no rosette at all when it blooms but this one has a full rosette and flowers in the centre.

I saw a lot of hoary mustard, some just rosettes and some with flowers and rosettes and some with flowers but no rosette.

These hoary mustard have both the rosette and flowers.

these are just the rosettes

hoary mustard

hawkweed ox-tongue and hoary mustard without obvious basal rosettes

hoary mustard, hawkweed ox-tongue and buddleja along the railway line with the Post Office Tower in the background

I saw a few bristly ox-tongue, some flowers with bees. The leaves have those distinctive blisters.

horseweed (Erigeron canadensis) rosette

hawkweed ox-tongue (Picris hieracioides) rosette

hawkweed ox-tongues  with no visible rosette

Geranium molle rosettes

Autumn hawkbit (Scorzoneroides autumnalis), rosette with flowers

with all this surrounding growth, the rosette / leaves are not visible

autumn hawkbit, to the right shepherd's purse and an autumn hawkbit rosette above that

the recent rain has brought some new growth: the salvia sclarea var. turkestanica has some new flowers and buds, scabious in the background

closer view of those buds, I don't know if there's time for them to open

a hollyhock self-seeded in the pot with the melancholy thistle, I didn't want to disturb either so I left them both

the sage I grew from seed recently is doing ok but it won't bloom this year, random snapdragon in the pot and I see some verbena bonariensis which I see self-seeding a lot

sunflower in bloom - amazing as the first bud was eaten by slugs but the plant came back and produced a new one, bee enjoying it

It's a common problem to differentiate between foxglove, borage, comfrey and green alkanet before flowers appear. I have blogged about this before but I saw queries online recently and happened to notice I had all four in my garden yesterday so was inspired to take photos and blog again. This is a particular challenge if there are no flowers (all the flowers are quite distinct). 

I happen to have a green alkanet (bottom) below a comfrey (top) which makes comparison easier. This is my only comfrey and it's in bloom so ID is easy. Green alkanet is variable so further examples below.

closer view of the comfrey

I do love green alkanet and at a certain point in the spring my back garden is covered with it so I have decided it is not necessary or possible to have it in pots (it would soon be in every pot!) as well so I have pulled this one out of a pot. The green alkanet leaves have a bristly feel unlike the soft foxglove leaves.

another example of green alkanet

more green alkanet

these are foxgloves which had self-seeded and I planted them in this flowerbed (behind is a bedraggled hollyhock leaf), the foxgloves are soft unlike the green alkanet which have a bristly feel

another foxglove

I happen to have a borage at the moment as well. They do come and go more quickly than the others. The initial borage leaves are more distinctive. This one is from an established plant in bloom.

another borage leaf

more borage