July 2025

27-7-2025 dittander (Lepidium latifolium), a new plant (to me)  I hadn't seen before, along a main road in a difficult environment

some older taller stems

seedheads forming

beginning of April when I first noticed seedlings / new shoots before I knew it was dittander

the difficult enviornment in which it's had to survive, liberally strimmed and sprayed with weedkiller

across the road I saw these small self-seeded plants and wondering if they're dittander

also along the main road, buck's-horn plantain and previously there was Danish scurvygrass

and other plants, such as this dandelion? / beaked hawk's-beard?

this I do think is a dandelion

spear thistle

willowherb

bristly oxtongue

25-7-2025 a magnificent tree, Japanese pagoda tree? a species I'd never seen before, surprised to see blossom this late in the season but that is when it blooms

18-7-2025

a couple days ago I saw these butterflies on the giant scabious

then yesterday I saw them on the ragwort

then today I saw one of my new rudbeckia

17-7-2025

lots of interesting self-seeders on my driveway: marsh mallow (with bee)

sow thistle with lots of hoverflies

willowherb with hoverfly

rosebay willowherb seedling (surprisingly!)

smooth hawk's-beard

autumn hawkbit

sulphur cosmos Cosmic Orange with a bud

and my polydactyl boy Scarecrow surveying it all

15-7-2025

teasel with bee

hoverflies on a rough hawkbit

these poppies have finally started to bloom, they seem to take so long started in spring, unlike those started the autumn before

yesterday I noticed a lot of ladybirds on the lupins

I have a tiny wild basil in bloom. I used to have lots of self-seeded plants but after moving I thought maybe they hadn't survived the move as I didn't seem to have any but I see some seeds must have survived. 

13-7-2025

I noticed a lot of ladybirds on my common hogweed yesterday and a lot of what looks like the leftovers of aphids being there so I guess the ladybirds had a feast.

12-7-2025 tough weather, drought and heatwave, but I have some plants that seem OK with it: teasel, sea holly, small teasel, ragwort, evening primrose, chicory, Verbena bonariensis, Verbascum blattaria and others, with lots of bees and hoverflies visiting and some butterflies

7-7-2025 the teasels are blooming and the bees and hoverflies are visiting

the bees love this scabious

luckily it produces lots of flowers (bottom left is one Erigeron specious Azure Fairy)

bees have been visiting the spear thistle

the nodding thistle bud has opened and immediately attracted bees 

small teasels juts blooming and attracting bees

ragwort still attracting bees