garden withoutdoors

My greater knapweed seem to be struggling a bit, I guess the environment isn't great, a shallow flowerbed that isn't watered enough (I can't water the garden except for pots) but at least a bee is there.

Two of the meadow cranesbill I grew from seed are finally blooming. I've had intermittent flowering from the few resulting plants.

The Chinese lanterns turned out to be easy to grow from seed. A few in that trough, which ideally I'd put next door for my downstairs neighbour but the upstairs neighbour is so horrible and refused me access to the garden (even though it's shared with the downstairs neighbour). I can't carry it through her flat.

One of my teasels in the back garden is blooming. Some self-seeded next door but that neighbour cut them down (and everything else, he even sprayed weedkiller - I am so upset).

close-up of the flower

view of the entire plant

at least in the front next door he hasn't started cutting anything down but maybe it's only a matter of time, teasels and artichokes

another view of them, not sure which is better

water collected in the teasel leaves

hollyhocks used to be the star of the garden next door but the hollyhock weevil seriously reduced numbers, I am trying to grow some replacements from seed but the slugs are seriously damaging the seedlings, I am going to try keeping them in pots until they are larger and maybe able to survive? mugwort to the left

field scabious I grew from seed

After this garden was completely destroyed with building work, I sowed some green manure seeds  onto the bare earth. These seed pods must be from the few surviving plants of the tare / vetch. I'm going to try sowing some of the seeds.

the verbascum thapsis appeared on its own

this poppy also found its way on its own

best buys from the garden centre - out of the skip, santolina and pelargonium

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I have some Chinese lanterns. After the drought and heatwave last year affecting them badly I wasn't sure they'd survive. Thank goodness this year has been wetter and cooler.

I gave in and bought sea holly plants as the slugs have attacked mine and the bees are all over them.

my one large sunflower, echium Blue Bedder behind to the right still going strong but the Lauren's Grape poppies behind are finished now pretty much

a pleasing basket of violas, Chicky Chicks originally I think, although they've self-seeded and renewed themselves a few times, I don't really have anywhere to put a hanging basket which I'd planted for someone else who couldn't use it so it's just on a rung of that little table

self-heal (Prunella vulgaris) I grew from seed

I didn't think my first sowing of self-heal seeds had survived the slugs (but they had) so sowed more seeds so I have 3 pots of self-heal altogether although those two at the front seem to have much darker leaves, I don't know why

one Beaconsfield pansy grown from seed above and below along with another pot of it, a nice number of flowers right now but think it's only 3 or 3 plants - all I got from the packet of seeds

the artichokes are starting to bloom

some artichokes next door to the right, just visible in the photo above, also some hollyhocks although a lot fewer this year after they were badly affected by the drought, heatwave and hollyhock weevil, I am attempting to grow some more from seed but the slugs are attacking them and I just don't have enough room to keep them off the ground and away from them

nepeta faassenii, garden catnip / catmint

nepeta cataria, catnip / catmint

Lauren's Grape poppy in bloom and attracting bees

the scabiosa Perfection Blue has finally attracted bees

speaking of bees, I saw these catsear locally with bees a few weeks ago, I just came across the photos and realised I'd never uploaded them

birdsfoot trefoil top left

I had one sunflower last year from seed seeds that came with something and this year I had one self-seeding, presumably from last year's.

this is what happens in my garden, hydrangea (good buy from Sainsbury's, happen to be there when they'd put these out) surrounded by self-seeders, clockwise from top right: lesser knapweed, goat willow (just top visible), forget-me-not, ivy-leaved toadflax, dog violet and not self-seeded but prevalent in my garden, bergenia and Chinese lanterns in pots after my successful experiment growing them from seed

this also happens in my garden, sadly

I tried growing melancholy thistle from seed and although I had reasonble seedlings the slugs were fierce and I lost every one, this one appeared with some hollyhock seedlings but it too got attacked

this also happens in my garden, I bought this rudbeckia Green Wizard as attempts from seed failed, before I could plant it out, the slugs got it, it grew back, slugs got it again, it's grown back again so I am reluctant to plant it out until it gets larger and I figure out where to put it away from the slugs, meanwhile lots of self-seeders! tiny poppy (which assumes adjusts its size to fit its environment), dog violet, snapdragons, deadnettle and verbena bonariensis

I am having a very difficult week (so far been stung by a bee (excruciatingly painful), been aggressively confronted by a neighbour who says he doesn't want my cats in "his" garden (it's a shared garden) and having migraine auras everyday) so want to focus on my flowers for a welcome distraction.

The buddleja is blooming, haven't seen any bees so far but it's been raining on and off for a week. I did have a  (expensive) star jasmine at the front but passing people pulled off every woody flowering stem and it died so thought a free self-seeded buddleja was a great alternative.

there's also jasmine which was here when I moved in and the fragrance is wonderful

this senecio (yes I know it's brachyglottis now but it still is senecio to me) was also here when I moved in and although it's not my favourite, it makes a nice barrier to block the unsightly wheelie bins

the meadow cranesbill is blooming and there is still green alkanet

moving to the back garden, the self-seeded poppy I assumed was a Black Swan which I grew last year, is not, not sure what variety it is, a fox-and-cubs is just visible to the right of it at the bottom

the small part of the salvia black and blue that has survived is blooming

a nasturtium self-seeded in a little dirt that accumulated at the edge of the patio

That echium I first thought was vulgare then Blue Bedder, I think is indeed vulgare. It looks different from the Blue Bedder now. The patio is crowded with plants so a bit difficult to see but it's in the terracotta-coloured pot, in front is a foxglove and a sea holly. I thought the sea hollies hadn't survived but some smaller ones in that grey trough (just visible) have buds.

That echium vulgare is now easier to compare with the just starting to bloom echium Blue Bedder whose leaves are larger and more rounded.

a larger pot of the Blue Bedder with buds just starting to open

I happened to be standing in the right place at the right time this morning to get a shot of a bee on one of my knautia macedonia Melton Pastels - one of my most successful flowers grown from seed, lots of flowers over the last few years, self-seeding and beloved by bees.

the bees are loving this allium christophii

I love seeing the bees go into the foxgloves

I thought this self-seeded echium was vulgare, ie viper's bugloss but as it's developed it seems to be echium Blue Bedder.

some of this year's echium Blue Bedder

Chinese lanterns I grew from seed for a friend but not sure they even have a balcony now so will plant them in my garden. My Chinese lanterns suffered vey badly in the drought and heatwave last summer so they could do with some replenishment. They have pretty insignificant white flowers.

this salvia Black and Blue has been badly damaged by slugs but there is a little left of it and it even has some buds

the fox-and-cubs have surprised me by blooming after I potted up some of the runners and then planted them, for a while I despaired of having any fox-and-cubs flowers again

this meadow cranesbill is finally blooming after I grew some from seed a few years ago, only got a few plants and they've been slow to flower but I finally this one is flowering

to the right of the cranesbill, a foxglove and to the right of that, snapdragons, lesser knapweed to the right and behind and a white flower in the back I have no idea what it is - will check it out later

more lesser knapweed buds

close-up of the lupin flowers - and a bee

a couple of bees on the nepeta flowers

fox-and-cubs in buds

tangerine sage buds

monkshood buds

delphinium in bloom

meadow cranesbill in bloom in back garden

the lupins had multiple flower spikes but seem to be coming to an end

then I noticed some fresh flower spikes: one left, one centre and one right with buds half open

the fox-and-cubs is in bloom

bees are back on the green alkanet, after the rain, I guess they will eventually go to the fox-and-cubs

and after the rain stopped and the bees could fly again, a bee on a knautia maceonia Melton Pastels

and one in bud

Now here is a flower that attracts bees!

I saw this tulip tree while walking through Regent's Park (Avenue Gardens) and looking into a flower, totally unexpectedly saw lots of bees. I had no idea bees were so attracted to tulip tree flowers.

There is a whole row of tulip trees on the west side of Avenue Gardens. I'm not sure if there's a corresponding row on the other side. Next time I'll walk down that side.

I am so happy to have some bees in my garden - and a few flowers they are visiting. These red / corn /field poppies have self-sown from original "wildflower" plants from the garden centre after seeds were a great failure. Some wildflowers work from seeds and some don't.

the bees are loving the lupins, my photo ended up showing the bee hovering there, I wasn't fast enough to get the photo with it on the flower, I also saw it go up into a foxglove but couldn't get a photo sadly

the lupins are doing well, surprisingly; a couple of others are destroyed by slugs

I am heartbroken the slugs / snails have destroyed my sea holly. They love sea holly, that's why the plants are in pots. The slugs / snails have eaten the flowering stem which I've circled. That's it for this year. I grew those sea holly from seed two years ago. I give in - I am buying 2 replacements from the garden centre!

The slugs / snails have also aggressively eaten the borage, a plant not usually suffering from slug damage.

blackcurrant sage with bee

it's challenging to capture the bees in focus, although this is out of focus it looks like there's a pollen basket on this one

The knautia macedonica have just started to bloom and the bees are all over them. I should be able to get one photo today - that will be my challenge.

lots of flowers are blooming, in addition to the green alkanet

allium Purple Sensation with a bee

there is a bee on the peachy snapdragons on the left, although admittedly a bit small to see, all of the snapdragons here self-seeded as did the violas

bee on the left in this shot, perhaps slightly easier to see

red poppies in the front garden, ox-eye daisies in the background

red poppies in the back garden

first foxglove in bloom

more foxgloves in the front, they seem to grow to fit their situation, these didn't have much room in this pot so they're smaller

the rose has masses of flowers now (Young Lycidas?, I think, I didn't keep track so well of my plants when I bought it about 15 years ago)

few days later, first knautica in bloom in addition to the foxglove and roses

wider view of all those roses

two of my cats, with my messy patio - I have lots of containers of water - for plants and animals, the cats like to drink from them, no doubt the foxes as well

another cat

I always have violas self-seeding everywhere, this beautiful "black" (very dark purple) one appeared in a pot

I love buds, especially fat bursting ones, this purple aquilegia one was such a beautiful colour I wanted to take a photo, I didn't even notice the bugs (aphids?) until I was processing the photos at my pc.

a purple aquilegia in bloom, I have aquilegias popping up all over the garden, front and back, amidst the green alkanet

few more centaurea montana flowers but I think they're coming to an end, sadly

In addition to the rose above in my main flowerbed, I have this rosa rugosa in the front garden, blooming away with the minium of fuss, sometimes forgotten about. It was here when I moved in - it deserves more attention!

also in the front garden, lesser knapweed, first iris foetidissima flowers in the background to the right

more sun in the front to help those iris bloom whereas in the back garden they are only in bud

first passionflower in bloom - and lots of buds

My previous post was all photos of my back garden, today they're all from my front garden.

honesty seed pods / "coins"

field / corn / red poppy, I did try to grow these from seed  but it proved impossible, these are from small "wildflower" plants the garden centre sells for a short time in spring, these have done well, they've self-seeded from the plants I bought last year

greater knapweed is another plant that is difficult from seed but this may be the one plant I got from a packet of seeds or maybe one of those small plants from the garden centre, anyway, I only have the one plant currently

so when I saw these are the garden centre in the "wildflower" range, I bought another greater knapweed, the slugs almost destroyed it so I was holding off putting it in the ground, not sure how to protect it

iris

allium, christophii I think

my cat Polly Pocket with another allium

Scarecrow and Victor, that gorgeous ceanothus in the background, white-flowered tree to the right, makes a nice combination

Victor on the table I've been working hard to clear with some seedlings, so there's room for cats

Scarecrow enjoying the space on the table

the cats are competing for this position in the flowerbed, one of the few places in the garden free for them to sit / sleep, foxglove buds to the left

centaurea montana, Victor in the background

the day before, before the centaurea montana was fully open

allium Purple Sensation with Jeffrey in the favourite spot in the flowerbed in the background

Jeffrey in "the" position, hovcrfly in front

self-seeded echium Blue Bedder in the garden next door I look after, why couldn't more have self-seeded ? my seedlings suffered from damping-off so sadly no new plants this year unless the recently re-sown seeds grow pretty quickly

I was worried where the bees would feed once the green alkanet is finished and no echium Blue Bedder but I realised the nepeta will be in bloom soon and I have a few good-sized plants, lots of buds (I do so love buds)

monkshood has buds also

scabious coming into flower

some fat, numerous buds of creeping thistle nearby

first ranunculus in bloom