Blogs

22-6-2025

common hogweed in flower

last year the hogweed seemed to have a fungal disease - all in my garden were affected - I didn't have any flowers, in fact the plants died down but this year the hogweed has come back and no signs of the fungal infection and even flowers although this one seems to be sticky from aphids? but doesn't seem to be affecting the flowers

saw-wort (Serratula  tinctoria)

I brought this with me from my last garden and actually managed to plant them in the ground last year (the ground was rock-hard and difficult to plant into, even more so this year as it's been so  dry and hot) and it survived and has buds, perhaps not that many but will hopefully get acclimatised and grow more

self-seeders

I have greatly enjoyed and relied on self-seeders in my garden, especially one of my favourite bee-loving flowers, green alkanet. Recently I had some surprise self-seeders: the chicory below and what looks like marsh mallow which self-seeded in a crack in my driveway. I grew marsh mallow in my last garden. I moved here 18 months ago, did I unknowingly bring a marsh mallow seed with me? If not, where did it come from?

The chicory was a surprise in a pot in my back garden. I did actually grow chicory from seed but the seedlings are planted out in the ground in the garden. Where did a chicory come from in that pot?

19-6-2025 when I went outside at 5:45 this morning I noticed all the chicory buds

 a little while later at 6:45 the flowers are starting to open

by 9:00 the flowers are fully open, I guess the heatwave is helping

the bees are loving the moth mullein (Verbascum blattaria)

I have lots of moth mullein (Verbascum blattaria) self-seeding in the garden. It all started with one packet of mixed perennial seeds and I've had them self-seeding ever since and the bees loving them. 

Growing from seed can take a long time from sowing seed to seeing flowers, some times longer than others. The giant knapweed (Centaurea macrocephala) has been years as I sowed seeds in my last garden but was not able to bring them with me so had to start again after I moved. I again sowed seeds last year and I am seeing flowers this year. It hasn't been smooth sailing. The slugs ate them savagely and I had to retrieve some seedlings / small plants from the garden where I had planted them out back into a pot to save them. So I now have this plant with two flower buds and one in the ground in the garden with two buds. 

this view shows a second bud to the right

I sowed seeds for these Erigeron speciosus Azure Fairy last year.

yellow chamomile (Cota tinctoria)

I sowed seeds for these last year. The seedlings were savagely eaten by slugs and less than half survived. I planted some of the seedlings in the front garden where there are fewer slugs and I have a number in bloom there now. I discovered this plant the other day in the back garden. It somehow survived the slugs. 

more Lauren's Grape poppies with bees

first chicory flower

new flowers just opening

first evening primrose flower

14-6-2025 first fox-and-cubs blooms this year

the Lauren's Grape poppies are fantastic

next flowers and melancholy thistle to the left

melancholy thistle

8-6-2025 corncockle, with a visitor

corncockle with another visitor, right inside, not sure what it is

scabious with visitor

sheepsbit blooming

bristly oxtongue (Helminthotheca echioides) flower with those distinctive bracts

a magnificent plant

a few green alkanet left, bees still visiting them

nepeta just blooming and attracting bees

I found two amaryllis bulbs in my shed. I can't remember when I got them or if I'd used them already but they were sprouting and I've found amaryllis can bloom in the summer even though we often grow them for Christmas.

the delphinium has been fantastic for the bees, they kept visiting even when I was tying it up, this is after I tied it up

this was before tying it up when it was sprawling

the bees are completely mad for the Knautia macedonica this week

8-6-2025

7-6-2025

there are three bees in this photo

cornflowers with bee

Verbascum Arctic Summer with a bee and mullein moth caterpillars

the next day, the caterpillars had eaten this plant so much the stem broke

bee on red campion

sheepsbit

echium vulgare

comparison of Erigeron Azure Fairy, left and Echium vulgare right

sweet alyssum, from the Sainsbury's Pink and White wildflower tin

giant knapweed

giant scabious buds

yellow chamomile

I had a catsear last year but hadn't seen it this year but after some time in the garden tidying up, I discovered it under some overgrown grass so I hadn't seen the initial distinctive basal rosette. 

the leaves at the bottom were covered with grass, this is after I trimmed the grass

closer view of the leaves which are usually just a basal rosette, I guess they grew up to reach the sun

violet in bud

poppies, I think Giganteum

Lauren's Grape poppies

huge poppy buds

spiderwort, I saw a bee on them the other day but missed getting a photo

water figwort buds

monkshood buds

Erigeron Azure Fairy buds

scabious bud

agastache buds

purple loosestrife in bud

a self-seeded cornflower I found in the garden yesterday

bristly oxtongue which I also discovered in the garden yesterday, hadn't realised it was there

two dandelion-like rosettes on my patio which I suspect might be Crepis vesicaria

perennial sow thistle I saw in Camden Town the other day

from the other side

closer view of the lower leaves

campanula with hoverfly

bees on lupins

knautia

Black Ball cornflower with bee

cornflower with bee

goosegrass flower

Verbascum blattaria buds just opening

violas I grew from seed last year, possibly Arkwright Red

scabious

wall lettuce buds and flowers

an unknown that has appeared on my patio, I hope to observe it until it's identifiable

end of May 2025

Black Ball cornflowers above, poppy with bee below

delphiniums with bees

first lupin flower spike

spiderwort starting to bloom

polemonium with a bee

hawk's-beard with bee

26-5-2025

I don't understand Crepis vesicaria. I had various self-seeding last year, forming rosettes, but none bloomed. They all bloomed this year. I now have a few that self-seeded this year and are blooming. Why are these flowering the same year but last year's took so long to bloom?

20-5-2025

The pyracantha has been in bloom and attracting lots of bees, I didn't realize how much bees liked it. In my last garden, not so much sun so not so many flowers. I heard it buzzing before I even saw the bees.

beaked hawk's-beard with bees

the cats have been enjoying the sun

poppies with buds

foxglove

Scilla peruviana

Verbena bonariensis

a cuckoo flower has appeared in my garden - never had one before (what No Mow May is all about)

base of the flower is so hairy bittercress-like - as both Cardamine, of course, never had one in my garden to examine closely

bloody cranesbill

Black Ball cornflower

16-5-2025

lots of buds in my garden and so many dandelion clocks flying around that one caught on some of the polemomium buds

a magnificent Centaurea montana, bees were on it at the garden centre when I was buying it yesterday - best recommendation a plant can have

Verbascum Arctic Summer

cornflower Black Ball

cornflower

scabious buds

Scilla peruviana

spiderwort

lupins repotted on top of the spent daffodils

sea holly buds forming on the sea holly I grew from seed last year

I love sea hollies so couldn't resist one from a local plant sale

I'm wondering if this is chicory, I didn't plant it in this pot but I did grow from seed last year, this is a lot greyer green than the bright green of the other plants

prickly sow thistle

lupin bud

poppy

oriental poppy bud

giant knapweed bud forming

wider view of entire giant knapweed plant

giant knapweed with a bud forming

giant scabious bud

6-5-2025

I just love green alkanet , an amazing number of flowers attractive to bees produced early with zero effort on my part.

 

The Crepis vesicaria are blooming - it's been a long wait from magnificent rosettes last year to flowers this spring. I have 20 in the garden, surprising from a tightly packed lawn.

stocks

lewisia

ceanothus at that magic time in spring when in full bloom

Yellow chamomile / golden marguerite (Cota tinctoria), I grew from seed, I planted some seedlings in the back garden and some in the front. These in the front have survived and seed to be developing buds but the ones in the back were savagely devoured by slugs.

I did find a couple of the Cota tinctoria surviving seedlings in the back garden in a pot

discovered this Crepis capillaris in a pot yesterday, I've had them in both the front and back garden

purple loosestrife seedlings

In trying to organize my many small pots with various self-seeders, I had these seedlings from different pots and thought they were the same species so I put them together in one small pot. I think they are purple loosestrife but will grow on to confirm.

some of my purple loosestrife plants

verbascum

fringecups, I found a small seedling, I used to have a lot in my last garden, thought I'd brought pots with me which had it

vetch

knautia

prickly sow thistle

 

Victor enjoying the sun in the garden

wintercress in bloom at the derelict car park

more flowers on the honesty

Centaurea montana cultivar (maybe Amethyst?)

some apple blossom in my garden

I was surprised to find one of my auricula's in bloom, it's survived the move and the winter. I don't recall seeing it last year. I used to have a lot more. I don't know if I brought all the pots they were in or not. I would have so I assume they didn't survive.

this shows what happens in my garden - lots of self-seeded forget-me-nots, dandelions and erigeron karvinskianus and pots of poppies (below)

claytonia, there's one spot on a pavement nearby that the claytonia loves and spread like mad

I know I'm back in Camden when I see Eastern rocket

those extravagant long fruits

also saw an enormous catsear

and further along the road, Japanese knotweed shooting out over the pavement, I've been observing it there for years

a few days before on the same road, I saw a large wall lettuce in bloom, typical Camden plant that loves the lime of the period buildings there

nearby another wall lettuce just getting established, no buds or flowers yet

nipplewort

a waterfall of chickweed

an enormous dandelion

greater celandine, first flower I've seen this year

hawkweed oxtongue rosette

hedge mustard plants growing up from the basal rosettes they start from, and a small rosette at the front of this one

black horehound plants

a local car park has some great plants around it

are these dandelions? similar to wild lettuce but no distinctive hairs under the leaves, will go back in a couple of weeks and check them

I'm not sure on this one, another to keep an eye on

maybe catsear

a number of Crepis vesicaria

I'd seen this before looking like a dandelion but now I'm not sure

slightly closer view of the centre

lots of groundsel

a really interesting looking buttercup

wider view of entire plant

dandelion

another car park near there

a pussy willow growing right through the tarmac

a closer view

wintercress?

groundsel?

I'm not sure about this, willowherb?

a few Crepis vesicaria

hoary mustard

creeping thistle?

back in my garden

honesty, a plant I brought with me from my last garden when I moved

bristly oxtongue

spear thistle

dandelion on my driveway - where no one can mow it down

and some fat buds

a Frankenstein plant, Danish scurvygrass growing up through buck's-horn plantain

also along the main road, thale cress

also along the main road, cornsalad, it really likes this area and has spread along here

some white deadnettle amongst the liquor bottles

I think this is a first year lesser knapweed but it's been a while since I had any of those. In my last garden I had a lot of mature plants which start with different leaves. A seed must have come along with me.

stock flower

stock plants I grew from seed last year, they're only flowering this year

I added the Erigeron speciosus Azure Fairy small plants to the stocks pots

three cats sunning themselves in my garden, preventing me from watering my pots - but then suddenly a downpour later that afternoon - totally unexpected, not in my weather forecast

common whitlowgrass in my patio cracks

forget-me-nots

muscari, front and back

daffodils

my giant knapweed have been eaten savagely by slugs, some were in the ground

I decided to try to save one in a pot, it might be the only one I have

something I suspect I've grown from seed but I'm really not sure what exactly, it's the only seedling of it's type that I have - I think

lots of Danish scurvygrass (Cochlearia danica) in bloom along a nearby main road

an amazing nipplewort rosette (Lapsana communis)

Eastern rocket (Sisymbrium orientale)

shepherds purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)

a few similar unknown rosettes I need to observe over coming weeks

dandelions

11-3-2025

15-3-2025 a few days later, same dandelion in bloom

22-3-2025

same dandelion a week later, lots of new buds

end of February lots and lots of rosettes I've seen in the last few days

I'm not sure on this one

Crepis capillaris (I think)

hairy bittercress

claytonia

claytonia

I'm not sure on this one

shepherds purse, a very variable plant

shepherds purse

Crepis vesicaria left, shepherds purse right

Crepis vesicaria

Crepis vesicaria?

Crepis vesicaria?

Crepis vesicaria?

Crepis vesicaria?

Crepis vesicaria?

Crepis vesicaria?

I'm not sure on this one

smooth sow thistle

wood avens

nipplewort

possibly sheep sorrel

another similar plant nearby

21-2-2025 common whitlowgrass (Draba verna) first flowers I've seen this spring

Pleased to see the Drimia maritima (was Urginea maritima) has survived the winter and is growing. I had them before but had to leave them behind when I moved and had not seen them bloom.

I also have a 3rd Drimia bulb but no sign of life yet.

Another bulb which I brought with me and planted them in the ground. I think these two photos are Scilla peruviana but hope they will flower this spring / summer. I have not had good luck with them so far.

The Sainsbury's lupins are doing well.

I have had variable results with ranunculus. I'm never sure when to plant them, in the autumn or early spring. This year, I did start some in the autumn and then bought more recently at Sainsburys which say to start March to May and with the warm weather this week, I decided to start them end of February.

white asphodel seedlings - the long grey-ish green seedlings in the centre of the each pot (except the top left) which have been invaded by a lot of other seedlings

13-2-2025

lots of hoary mustard rosettes

lots of Eastern rocket (Sisymbrium orientale)

Eastern rocket on the left hedge mustard on the right

bristly oxtongue (Helminthotheca echioides)

9-2-2025

beaked hawk's-beard (Crepis vesicaria) looking rather dandelion-ish, challenging shot - had to put my phone through the gaps in the metal barrier of the building site

what I call a Frankenstein plant, two growing together, in this case hedge mustard (Sisymbrium officinale) growing through beaked hawk's-beard (Crepis vesicaria)

an unusual Crepis vesicaria rosette, initially I thought it looked like a shepherd's purse

three smooth sow thistle rosettes

prickly sow thistle

 

a huge horseweed rosette growing in a wall

two thale cress left, prickly sow thistle right

hedge mustard (Sisymbrium officinale) really likes this area

update on the Eastern rocket (left) and hedge mustard (right) I saw the other day

Eastern rocket (Sisymbrium orientale) seedlings

smooth hawk's-beard (Crepis capillaris) - easy to identify as it's on my driveway and I've seen it in flower

 

8-2-2025

I saw these yesterday at Sainsburys and thought they were so cute. I love buying garden stuff at Sainsburys as it's easy and affordable. Of course, some products are better than others. Anything about wildflowers and pollinators is my favourite.

Blue and White Wildflowers

back of the can

Pink and White Wildflowers

Beneficial Insect Wildflowers

In addition to the tins, I got a pack of lupins and ranunculus.

I thought I should pot these up as soon as possible.

I love lupins but they are generally destroyed by slugs and snails. I am putting these in pots and putting them on shelves off the ground.

back of the box of ranunculus

clearer view of the back of the box

13-1-2025 I saw an intriguing hoary mustard (Hirschfeldia incana) leaf shape variation or at least I assume it is hoary mustard.

 

I went back 10 days later but I couldn't get any better photos. The area is on the other side of a metal openwork wall so difficult to get direct overhead shots. On the left are the more usually-shaped leaved hoary mustard plants next to the differently-shaped leaved plants.

I walked around the area hoping I might see some additional examples of hoary mustard but didn't see any that day. I will come back and check on these in a couple weeks.

I also saw an Eastern rocket plant. Haven't seen one in a while. It was quite prevalent in areas of London I found myself botanizing in but not so much in Edgware.

On a very cold day yesterday, I was able to observe some plants in and around a local car park.

Crepis vesicaria possibly to the left, bristly oxtongue to the right

another Crepis vesicaria possibly

hoary mustard (Hirschfeldia incana)

wintercress possibly, I don't see this very often so I don't know it very well

ragwort seedling rosette, catsear to the left, tiny common whitlowgrass seedlings around, forget-me-not seedlings, some tiny hairy bittercress seedlings

dandelion

common whitlowgrass

Geranium lucidum

stone parsley

creeping potentilla

bristly oxtongue

another bristly oxtongue

Crepis capillaris or autumn hawkbit

a couple I wasn't sure about

maybe evening primrose?

dandelion maybe?

mid-January

hellebore in bloom

scabious in bud and bloom

Danish scurvygrass (Cochlearia danica) rosette

buck's-horn plantain (Plantago coronopus) with tiny Danish scurvygrass and common whitlowgrass rosettes to the right and Danish scurvygrass growing through it

Frankenstein plant (dandelion and Geranium molle)

beginning of January lots of rosettes

dandelions

are these beaked hawk's-beard (Crepis vesicaria)? I worry the verge and other locations where they are will be mown down in the spring before I get to see them in bloom

shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) on the right, not sure on the left

another shepherds purse

bristly oxtongue (Helminthotheca echioides)

I think these next two are the same but not sure what they are, they do look like dandelions but not exactly right for dandelion

pineappleweed (Matricaria discoidea), it's made itself into a rosette but not the usual basal plant rosette but and aged weathered rosette

spear thistle

thale cress rosette

thale cress rosettes

stone parsley

dock

bristly oxtongue

Danish scurvygrass (Cochlearia danica)

I saw a lot of this locally earlier this year in bloom. Now there are lots of seedlings.

mayweed (scented or unscented)