Blogs

my plant photos always seem to be photobombed by one or more of my cats, I decided to check the muscari for buds and Rocky had to check them out too (Scarecrow in the background)

I discovered snowdrops in the garden the other day - I've never had them in a garden before

stone parsley rosette

common whitlowgrass rosette

catsear rosette

shepherd's purse rosettes

this one is just starting to flower

swinecress

claytonia

smooth sow thistle

very disappointing visit to RSPB Rye Meads, grassy areas severely mown, the only plants surviving are low-growing rosettes such as dandelion

and buck's-horn plantain

I don't expect a wildflower meadow but 15cm, or even 10, would allow something to grow

the first two I'm pretty confident they are Crepis vesicaria and a couple of the dandelions in my previous post I think might be

and some of these I'm not certain of

The time of year for magnificent dandelions which will overwinter as huge rosettes then in the spring, fresh smaller leaves will take over, I look forward to observing these. I hope they survive. The last time I saw such nice examples, they were mown down, sadly.

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.

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

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

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

Centaurea dealbata (Persian cornflower, now Psephellus dealbatus)

garlic mustard first year (selfheal above and below)

similar round leaves of campanula

aquilegia

red campion

green alkanet

green alkanet on the left

red campion right, others are green alkanet

selfheal

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

scabious with bee

borage with bee

sawwort

fox-and-cubs

knautia macedonica

some rosettes

bristly oxtongue

horseweed (Erigeron canadensis)

another horseweed

buck's-horn plantain with spent flowers

early buck's-horn plantain rosette before flowers

ribwort plantain with spent flowers

teasels

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

bellis perennis left and broad-leaved plantain right

yarrow

spear thistle

hawkweed oxtongue

Verbascum thapsus

bristly oxtongue in bloom

yarrow with ladybird

perennial sow thistle

geranium molle

gypsywort with spent flowers

Verbascum, detail

Verbascum

teasel

spear thistle

lichen on hawthorn

a late fox-and-cubs

corn marigold

September Rosettes

spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare)

hawkweed oxtongue (Picris hieracioides)

tree spinach (Chenopodium giganteum)

hoary mustard (Hirschfeldia incana)

hawkweed (Hieracium) with a persicaria behind

bristly oxtongue (Helminthotheca echioides)

shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)

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

catsear (Hypochaeris radicata)

broadleaf plantain (Plantago major) in bloom

dandelion

hoary mustard (Hirschfeldia incana)

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

and a few days later, thinking corn marigold bottom left

green alkanet, borage

borage

green alkanet with a late flower

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

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

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

fox-and-cubs

red campion, teasel left, green alkanet below

left Japanese anemone, right Pulmonaria rubra

lesser knapweed (Centaurea nigra)

another view of the knapweed

left knautia macedonica, right fringecups, below right green alkanet

melancholy thistle, bottom right green alkanet

honesty

wood avens

forget-me-not

black nightshade

buddleja

lots of flowers on my new agapanthus, Poppin Purple

I have two monkshood plants in this pot.

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

closer view of those growths

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

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

near those were a large dandelion rosette

and a broad-leaved plantain