Vivipary

I'd not seen vivipary (seeds germinating in the seed head) in my garden before until this year. I was excited to see it with my giant scabious (Cephalaria gigantea) in October.

giant scabious cephalaria gigantea vivipary

then a few weeks later after I put the seed head on the soil

giant scabious vivipary seedlings

Now I'm seeing it on my teasels (Dipsacus fullonum) in early December.

vivpary in teasels

vivpary in teasels

vivipary in teasels

vivipary in teasels

more leaves mid-October 2023

further to my recent Leaves post here are the latest leaves in my garden

Centaurea dealbata (Persian cornflower, now Psephellus dealbatus)

centaurea dealbata

garlic mustard first year (selfheal above and below)

garlic mustard

similar round leaves of campanula

campanula

aquilegia

aquilegia

red campion

red campion

green alkanet

green alkanet

green alkanet on the left

green alkanet

red campion right, others are green alkanet

green alkanet red campion

selfheal

selfheal

selfheal

nepeta

nepeta

one of what I like to call a Frankenstein plant, hairy bittercress and forget-me-not growing as if one plant

some unknown seedlings

nepeta possibly with another seedling as those above

end of Sept 2023

scabious with bee

scabious bee

borage with bee

borage with bee

sawwort

sawwort

fox-and-cubs

fox-and-cubs

knautia macedonica

knautia

knautia macedonica

RSPB Rye Meads end of Sept 2023

some rosettes

bristly oxtongue

bristly oxtongue Helminthotheca echioides

horseweed (Erigeron canadensis)

erigeron canadensis horseweed

another horseweed

erigeron canadensis horseweed

buck's-horn plantain with spent flowers

buck's-horn plantain rye meads Plantago coronopus

early buck's-horn plantain rosette before flowers

buck's-horn plantain rye meads Plantago coronopus

ribwort plantain with spent flowers

ribwort plantain Plantago lanceolata

teasels

teasels

left to right, honesty, comfrey, milk thistle above and below the comfrey

bellis perennis left and broad-leaved plantain right

yarrow

yarrow

spear thistle

spear thistle

hawkweed oxtongue

hawkweed oxtongue

Verbascum thapsus

bristly oxtongue in bloom

Helminthotheca echioides bristly oxtongue

yarrow with ladybird

yarrow ladybird

perennial sow thistle

perennial sow thistle

geranium molle

geranium molle

gypsywort with spent flowers

gypsywort  Lycopus europaeus

gypsywort Lycopus europaeus

Verbascum, detail

verbascum thapsus

Verbascum

verbascum thapsus

teasel

teasel

spear thistle

spear thistle

lichen on hawthorn

lichen hawthorn

September 2023

a late fox-and-cubs

fox-and-cubs Pilosella aurantica

corn marigold

corn marigold

 

September Rosettes

 

spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare)

spear thistle cirsium vulgare

hawkweed oxtongue (Picris hieracioides)

hawkweed oxtongue rosette Picris hieracioides

tree spinach (Chenopodium giganteum)

tree spinach chenopodium giganteum

hoary mustard (Hirschfeldia incana)

hoary mustard hirschfeldia incana

hawkweed (Hieracium) with a persicaria behind

hawkweed hieracium

bristly oxtongue (Helminthotheca echioides)

bristly oxtongue Helminthotheca echioides

shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)

shepherds purse capsella bursa-pastoris

hoary mustard in bloom with extant basal rosette, left and hawkweed oxtongue, right

hoary mustard hawkweed oxtongue

catsear (Hypochaeris radicata)

catsear Hypochaeris radicata

broadleaf plantain (Plantago major) in bloom

broadleaf plantain plantago major

dandelion

dandelion

hoary mustard (Hirschfeldia incana)

hoary mustard hirschfeldia incana

Leaves - foxglove, borage, green alkanet, etc

snapshot of leaves late summer

When I noticed the buds on the borage in the pot below, I realised how difficult it can be to differentiate plants based on leaves. It could have been green alkanet only the buds made it definitive. Some leaves can be so similar.

I noticed I had a few similar plants in my garden and took some photos. I was thinking they were from only a couple plant families but, in fact, five: Asteraceae (lesser knapweed, fox-and-cubs, melancholy thistle), Boraginaceae (borage, green alkanet, pulmonaria), Brassicaceae (honesty), Caprifoliaceae (Knautia macedonica, teasel, red campion), Plantaginaceae (Foxglove),  Scrophulariaceae (buddleja). This is a snapshot of leaves in my garden this week.

left to right, foxglove, borage, teasel

foxglove borage teasel

and a few days later, thinking corn marigold bottom left

foxglove borage teasel corn marigold

green alkanet, borage

borage green alkanet

borage

borage Borago officinalis

green alkanet with a late flower

green alkanet self-seeded in this pot, it is a great self-seeder

green alkanet Pentaglottis sempervirens

foxglove left, green alkanet right, Chinese lantern top of trough

foxglove green alkanet chinese lantern

in the pot below: top teasel, below fox-and-cubs, right red campion (better view below) and green alkanet

teasel green alkanet fox-and-cubs

fox-and-cubs

fox-and-cubs

red campion, teasel left, green alkanet below

red campion silene dioica

left Japanese anemone, right Pulmonaria rubra

pulmonaria rubra

lesser knapweed (Centaurea nigra)

lesser knapweed centaurea nigra

another view of the knapweed

lesser knapweed centaurea nigra

left knautia macedonica, right fringecups, below right green alkanet

knautia macedonica fringecups

melancholy thistle, bottom right green alkanet

melancholy thistle cirsium hetero phyllum

honesty

honesty lunaria annua

wood avens

wood aven geum urbanum

forget-me-not

forget-me-not

black nightshade

black nightshade

buddleja

buddleja

mid-August 2023

lots of flowers on my new agapanthus, Poppin Purple

agapanthus

I have two monkshood plants in this pot.

monkshood

I recently noticed these growths on the left plant at the base and along the stem.

monkshood

closer view of those growths

monkshood

some green alkanet and borage self-seeded in this pot, before the borage buds appeared, I couldn't tell them apart

borage and green alkanet

I don't see hawkweed very often, not as an urban wild plant anyway, so was surprised to see a number of them self-seeded along this house

hawkweed

hawkweed

near those were a large dandelion rosette

dandelion

and a broad-leaved plantain

broad-leaved plantain

a foxglove surviving drought and heatwave

I had some fantastic foxgloves this year, but they came back after a drought and heatwave in 2022.

7-6-2023 with a bee

foxglove with bee

wider view end of May 2023

foxgloves

detail 11-6-2023

poppy bud foxgloves

back in 2022, my large foxglove did not bloom, first I've ever had a failure with a foxglove, it had a withered brown flower stem, I don't know if I have a photo, it was so painful

foxglove

it over-wintered, first I've had that as well, surviving the into the 3rd year and shooting up multiple flowering stems, I've always had just the central flowering stem

foxglove

this foxglove bloomed spectacularly this year (see top of page) and now it has growth from the base of the stems, the drought and heatwave seems to  have changed this plant, I look forward to seeing what happens with it next spring

foxglove shoots

foxglove basal growth

whereas other foxgloves don't have that new growth, as you would expect at the end of their season, they have finished and no new growth

foxglove end of season

this foxglove grew as usual (seen back 11-6-2023) and completed its usual season and is finished, shown above

foxgloves with bee

August 2023

bee on verbena bonariensis

verbena bonariensis bee

sawwort with bee

sawwort bee

29-5-2023 I had a sage plant that was looking quite sad. After taking it out from an overgrown flowerbed it had a little growth, so kept it out in the sun.

sage

after 2 months and repotting, it looks amazing, too late for flowers I guess but looking forward to some next year

sage

Yesterday I discovered some of my echium Blue Bedder are white.

echium blue bedder white

scabiosa Mariposa Blue in the centre, white echium Blue Bedder above, usual purple/blue echium Blue Bedder below

echium Blue Bedder white mariposa scabiosa

white echium Blue Bedder

echium Blue Bedder white

I had one agastache growing in a pot from a seed left from last year.

agastache

greater knapweed, new bloom after lots of rain, sadly that's prevented any bees visiting

greater knapweed Centaurea scabiosa

I love the pattern of the centaurea buds

greater knapweed Centaurea scabiosa

The passionflower is producing fruit, not to be confused with passion fruit, I tried one once, not very nice.

passionflower fruit

fading catnip flowers, still attracting bees

catnip nepeta cataria bee

more bees - end of July 2023

the lesser knapweed is in bloom in the back garden (shadier so the flowers bloom later than the front garden) and bees are visiting

lesser knapweed Centaurea nigra

bee visiting the agapanthus - it went right up into the flower like they do with foxgloves,

agapanthus

bee going into the snapdragon (hard to see the bee but it's on the right)

snapdragon

and I saw a bee visiting the saw-wort for the first time but my photos did not turn out

saw-wort

sawwort

a couple days later, I managed to photograph the bees visiting the saw-wort

saw-wort bee

saw-wort bee

saw-wort bee

saw-wort bee

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