garden withoutdoors

My yearly visit to Tower Hill to see the coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) a stone's throw from the Tower of London and  London rocket (Sisymbrium irio).

the coltsfoot is growing by the steps down to the disused Mark Lane tube station

entrance to the old disused Mark Lane tube station across the road

London rocket was quite disappointing as only some small shoots but I did manage to speak to the gardener there and ask him to let it grow and flower. It was great last year. Also emailed City of London parks to let the London rocket grow in Tower Hill Garden near the piece of London Wall but I don't hold out much hope.

London rocket at the base of the piece of Roman London Wall in Tower Hill Garden.

near the Tower of London

I also saw some London rocket in Shadwell

Late winter is a good time to review things in the garden, what worked, what didn't, what to do next time. And late winter as it will be time to start spring tasks soon.

I noted what flowers the bees liked last summer:

Crepis rubra

foxgloves

knautia

sheepsbit

green alkanet 

scilla peruviana 

red campion

dandelions

iris foetidissima 

borage

poppies

giant scabious

echium vulgare

As I had to move recently, I won't have a lot of self-seeders this spring / summer but I have 40 packets of seeds plus some seeds I collected myself which I will track their growth at Seeds 2024.

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)