There is nothing half so much worth doing as messing about with bulbs. Indoors or outdoors it doesn't matter.
Railway Lands - a pedestrian bridge
Plant Survey of the area from the Maiden Lane estate up to a pedestrian bridge over the railway lines and stairs down to Camley Street.
one of my favourite views, walking up to the railway line from Maiden Lane, anticipating wildflowers to see and the Post Office Tower in the distance, May 2021
cow parsley and beaked hawk's-beard on the walkway up to the railway bridge from Maiden Lane
this pedestrian bridge over the railway lines creates a sheltered environment for self-seeding plants: hoary mustard, narrow-leaved ragwort, hawkweed ox-tongue, red valerian, round-leaved crane's-bill, small-flowered crane's-bill, etc
this was the bridge in March looking very green after some rain
at the other end of the bridge
plants in the area over the last 2 or 3 years:
(in alphabetical order, each plant name is clickable to images or scroll down to see the images)
autumn hawkbit (Scorzoneroides autumnalis)
beaked hawk's-beard (Crepis vesicaria)
black horehound (Ballota nigra)
bristly oxtongue (Helminthotheca echioides)
common field speedwell (Veronica persica)
common knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare)
common toadflax (Linaria vulgaris)
cow parsely (Anthriscus sylvestris)
creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens)
creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense)
creeping yellowcress (Rorippa sylvestris)
dove's-foot cranesbil (Geranium molle)
germander speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys)
great hairy willowherb / codlins-and-cream (Epilobium hirsutum)
great mullein (Verbascum thapsis)
green alkanet (Pentaglottis sempevirens)
hedge woundwort (Stachys sylvatica)
hawkweed oxtongue (Picris hieracioides)
hoary mustard (Hirschfeldia incana)
melilot (Melilotus officinalis)
narrow-leaved ragwort (Senecio inaequidens)
Oxford ragwort (Senecio squalidus)
purple toadflax (Linaria purpurea)
red valerian (Centranthus ruber)
redshank (Persicaria maculosa)
ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata)
round-leaved cranesbill (Geranium rotundifolium)
rue-leaved saxifrage (Saxifraga tridactylites)
scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis)
scented mayweed/ wild chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla)
shepherd's purse (Capsella bura-pastoris)
small-flowered crane's-bill (Geranium pusillum)
smooth hawk's-beard (Crepis capillaris)
sticky mouse-ear (Cerastium glomeratum)
swinecress (Lepidium coronopus)
welted thistle (Carduus crispus)
white clover (Trifolium repens)
white deadnettle (Lamium album)
zigzag clover (Trifolium medium)
aster and hoary mustard June 2021
along the railway line
this was in Nov 2020, aster still in bloom along the railway line
aster buds Sept 2020
April 2021 along the walkway up to the railway bridge from Maiden Lane
autumn hawkbit (or possibly smooth hawk's-beard)
with bees
new autumn hawkbit plant rosette Nov 2020
beaked hawk's-beard along the walkway up to the railway bridge
6-5-2021 this one was growing on the railway bridge - an amazing determined plant, the bees love the flowers
there were a number in bud mid-May 2021 along the walkway from Maiden Lane up to the railway bridge (sadly they were savagely mown down - the bees missed out)
I love those beaked hawk's-beard fat buds
hemlock, bindweed (with a bee in one of the flowers), hoary mustard, green alkanet, stinging nettle
closer view of that bindweed flower with the bee
purple black horehound flowers, buddleja buds on the left, yellow nipplewort in the centre, white bramble flowers on the right
as well as the black horehound in the centre, hoary mustard left and right, yellow autumn hawkbit in the middle, blue green alkanet flowers in the middle
bristly oxtongue, mallow on the right
bristly oxtongue at the bottom, autumn hawkbit on the right
the bristly oxtongue can grow large and provide foods for bees which love the flowers - until it's mown down, sadly
buddleja and other wildflowers (melilot, hoary mustard, ribwort plantain, hypericum?) along the railway line, June 2021
burdock with buds - will be spectacular, the bees love it, June 2021
there were large burdock leaves down the hill but this area is well-mown so will probably not survive which is a shame
common field speedwell April 2021
March 2020
on the railway bridge, June 2021
knotgrass with small-flowered crane's-bill on the right, Nov 2020
common toadflax along the railway line, Sept 2020
dandelion in the middle
cow parsley along the walkway up to the railway bridge from Maiden Lane, May 2020
this is just a small example of cow parsley, there were more beautiful plants in bloom but gone to seed now, and of course, some mown down, June 2021
April 2021 cow parsley was in full bloom, also green alkanet blue flowers growing throughout
June 2021 cow parsley skeletons of spent flowers with some beaked hawk's-beard (there was more but it was mown down which is sad as it's great for bees)
creeping thistle above the wall near the bottom of the green bridge, June 2021
On the walkway up to the bridge I saw lots of creeping yellow cress which was amazing as that area was severely mown including the creeping yellow cress plants. New plants grew quickly and flowered before anyone could mow them down again. June 2021
a view of the walkway from Maiden Lane up to the bridge from mid-April 2021, a few dandelions, sadly they are the first plants to be savagely mown down even though they are an important early food source for bees
dandelions provide food for early bees but are sadly often mown down
dove's-foot cranesbill June 2021
goosegrass small plant in the middle growing through the hoary mustard, June 2021
goosegrass flower and seedpods
green alkanet is the blue flowers at the top, really past their peak season which is early spring but there are a few left, hoary mustard on the left, June 2021
April 2020
hawkweed oxtongue, also red clover June 2021
hoverfly on hawkweed oxtongue
wider view of the wildflowers between the "green bridge" from Camley St and the pedestrian bridge to Maiden Lane
hawkweed oxtongue, red clover and hypericum
hawkweed oxtongue behind, hoary mustard in front
on the bridge, spectacular hawkweed ox-tongue rosettes, surrounded by chickweed, March 2020
in bloom along the railway line Sept 2020
new rosette along the railway line
new hawkweed oxtongue plant along the railway line Nov 2020, older plant in flower behind
and further behind, a larger hawkweed oxtongue in bloom Nov 2020
closer view of that hawkweed oxtongue, buddleja behind it
more hawkweed oxtongue looking eastwards along the railway line
looking even further left Sept 2020
growing in the wall at the bottom of the green bridge on the Camley St walkway, July 2019
hawkweed oxtongue starts as a rosette, this was on the railway bridge 5-2-2021
wider view of the hawkweed oxtongues and other plants such as herb robert, dovesfoot cranesbill, hoary mustard and dandelion
hawkweed oxtongue on the pedestrian bridge over the railway line between Maiden Lane and Camley St
hawkweed oxtongue on the walkway up to the pedestrian bridge from Maiden Lane
hedge mustard on the railway bridge, Sept 2020
hemlock with burdock on the right June 2021
8-5-2021 hemlock at the entrance to the railway bridge, green alkanet on the right
June 2021
hoary mustard in front, hawkweed oxtongue behind, Sept 2020
looking eastwards more hoary mustard in bloom
Nov 2020 large new hoary mustard rosette along the railway line, left hawkweed oxtongue, right oxford ragwort
looking westwards along the railway line, hoary mustard in bloom
hoary mustard rosette and a dandelion with the Post Office Tower in the distance in the background, March 2020
on the bridge June 2021
Oct 2020
Nov 2020 a beautiful lush carpet of moss at that time, good environment for hoary mustard to seed into
larger hoary mustard rosette
on the walkway down to the Maiden Lane estate June 2021
this hoary mustard is in bud, blue flowers behind are green alkanet
that is a magnificent plant, here is a closer view of the lower stem and leaves, yellow flower to the right, beaked hawk's-beard, small pink geraniums, I think both dovesfoot and round-leaved cranesbills
July 2019
I also saw melilot further down the railway line at Camden Rd Overground station, the yellow amongst the buddleja
June 2021
mugwort, tall plant on the right, not in bloom yet, white bindweed flowers and purple black horehound flowers at the front, June 2021
this is the first place I'd seen narrow-leaved ragwort (back in Dec 2019), I've seen it a few other places since but not a common wildflower
nipplewort on the pedestrian bridge from Maiden Lane to Camley St, July 2021
Sept 2020, also black horehound, fat hen and knotgrass
June 2021 at the bottom of the stairs from the green bridge, on Camley St
June 2021
Oxford ragwort along the railway line Apr 2021
Sept 2020 Oxford ragwort, hoary mustard to the right, buddleja behind along the railway line
Oxford ragwort on the pedestrian bridge from Maiden Lane to Camley St
purple toadflax and hawkweed oxtongue along the railway line, Sept 2020
along the walkway up to the railway bridge from Maiden Lane, May 2020
red clover at the bottom of the steps from the green bridge, Nov 2020
red valerian, spots of red in the landscape, May 2020
June 2021
May 2021
June 2021
on the bridge, red valerian before blooming, March 2020
and after blooming, April 2020
above the wall near the bottom of the green bridge is red valerian, in different colours, June 2021
June 2021
Sept 2020
round-leaved geranium June 2021, I did see this on the bridge back in 2017 so amazingly it continues to self-seed there
from 2017 when the environment was a lot friendlier for the wildflowers
with herb robert behind
geranium rotundifolium with herb robert behind
herb robert on the left, geranium rotundifolium on the right
around the scented mayweed was a nice selection of wildflowers, shown in the next two photos: redshank, stinging nettle, aster, common knotgrass, greater plantain, dock, scarlet pimpernel
a wider view of the shepherd's purse location just at the bottom of the steps down the green bridge
along the walkway up to the railway bridge, bellis perennis on the left
close-up of some of the flowers
Feb 2021 this was on the bridge which goes through periods of wet and dry, the moss grows (right), then it dies (left)
this was in bloom nearby in April
stinging nettle with the largest leaves I've ever seen, at the base of the stairs to the green bridge from Camley St
white clover, bellis perennis and yellow flowers which are either smooth hawk's-beard or autumn hawkbit
white deadnettle, earlier spring flower but there were a few left in bloom
beaked (or smooth) hawk's-beard on the left, white deadnettle on the right
wintercress Oct 2020 this hasn't bloomed because it keeps getting mown down
zigzag clover June 2021 at the bottom of the green bridge on Camley St, the only place I've ever seen this, an uncommon wildflower
overview of the environment
nature taking over viewed from the stairs leading up to the bridge
stairs leading up to the bridge
walk to the bridge down Camley Street from Agar Grove to the other side of the bridge
I was very surprised to recognise these stairs in a music video, Shampoo's Trouble, https://youtu.be/unv3GQidxEs at about 2:20, NB the stairs have had the fencing reinforced since the the video was filmed
Garden Withindoors
