Submitted by ju1i3 on Wed, 17/08/2022 - 16:27
In recent years I’ve been keeping the dandelions in my garden for the bees whereas before, I’m embarrassed to say, I used to remove them. One of my long-term goals is to learn more about them and how to identify them.
If dandelions are in my garden or local to me, it’s a lot easier to observe them. I’ve noticed how the initial dandelion basal rosette leaves are different from the later leaves.I’ve seen this rosette near me in Jeffrey’s St since July 2021. I wasn’t even sure it was a dandelion.
By March 2022 it was looking more like a dandelion and had lots of buds.
By April 2022 it bloomed. I have to be careful taking photos of urban wild plants as so often people see me paying attention and promptly remove them.
I decided to research these dandelions at the LNHS library and read about these varying leaves
and learned it’s called heterophylly
The dandelion rosette in one of my pots was enormous in October 2021
. By February 2022, fresh, smaller leaves in the centre, that’s heterophylly.

Submitted by ju1i3 on Tue, 16/08/2022 - 05:44
hoverfly on a "pink dandelion" (Crepis rubra)

I am trying to water my pots sparingly, especially those with flowers for pollinators so the "pink dandelions" (Crepis rubra) are still blooming. I'm loving these this summer - fast flowers from seed.

and some of the spent flowers


I love chicory. I grew these from seed but it's been challenging. They're biennial so it's been a long time waiting for flowers and trying to keep the slugs off them. I only have 1 plant left from about half a dozen.


some new chicory buds


my lone water lily this year, it lives in a trug after the barrel it was in collapsed; that got very low on water with the drought and heatwave and I think I topped up the water only just in time

aster in bloom, seems early, I imagine it's the heat that's brought on early blooms

Victor (and all the cats) struggling to find shade to avoid the heat

borage buds

I'm not sure what this seedling is. I think I've seen it before but can't remember.

this amaranthus has self-seeded in one of my pots, will keep an eye on it as it develops to see if I can identify it to species

the flower reminds me of some plantain species


Submitted by ju1i3 on Thu, 04/08/2022 - 18:08
Review of some of the wildflowers that bloomed from the wildflower seed mix I bought at Sainsbury's
I never thought of rocket as a wildflower but the mix included it

canary grass, I had seen this in a seed catalogue or somewhere and was thinking of getting some, so I was pleased to see it

annual mallow (Malva trimestris)




there was dill but it was difficult to get an in-focus photo, the resulting seedheads were easier to capture

also in the mix: poached egg plant (see earlier blog entry)
hollyhocks with a bee

hollyhocks with bee


Crepis rubra with hoverfly



mallow

evening primrose

Submitted by ju1i3 on Mon, 25/07/2022 - 05:28
my friendly fox, within a couple minutes that bowl was licked clean

Rocky with the catnip (Nepeta cataria) I grew from seed


purple loosestrife with bee

heleniums with a bee



the bees are loving the globe thistles, they've been great as they survived the drought and heatwave with no watering

the heleniums are looking good and the bees are visiting but they're in pots so I have to water them

I had a few evening primrose that had self-seeded so put them all together in a pot (some were larger than others) and the next day one bloomed

hollyhocks blooming but they're all white and pink, I have been watering them a bit as they're newly planted out but they shouldn't need watering once they're established

bowl of water out for birds and insects but haven't seen either visiting it


Scarecrow on the right, this is in my neighbour's garden, he often goes with me if I go over to water or photograph

Submitted by ju1i3 on Fri, 22/07/2022 - 05:28
globe thistles in bloom this week (mid-July) with bees




The artichokes are in bloom - in my garden, next door's garden and the next one up - makes a fabulous sight - people stop and look walking past. There are bees visiting them but the plants are too tall for me to take a decent photo.


Submitted by ju1i3 on Thu, 14/07/2022 - 16:56
Sometimes when I go to Sainsbury's I can't resist making an impulse purchase of seeds or bulbs - even though I've already ordered plenty of seeds and bulbs! I bought some wildflower seeds there earlier this year, and of course, had very little room in the garden for them so they were very badly eaten by slugs as I had no room to keep them off the ground, so the fact that a few things survived is a miracle. These poached egg plants are one of the miracles. I've not grown them before and for a long time before they bloomed I didn't know what they were. Also survived: Phacelia tanacetifolia, Malva neglecta and another mallow which I'm not sure of and rocket.
poached egg plant (Limnanthes douglasii)




Malva neglecta


Submitted by ju1i3 on Sun, 10/07/2022 - 18:46
Hen and Chicks poppy with a bee and hoverfly. When I took the photo, it was of the hoverfly. It was only when I was processing the photo, I saw the bee as well on the right.

hoverfly and I think there's a bee behind below

Hen and Chicks poppy with a bee



purple loosestrife with bees

Lauren's Grape poppies


Amazing Grey poppies

lupins (left) and echium Blue Bedder (right)

white dwarf mallow (Malva neglecta)

Submitted by ju1i3 on Sat, 09/07/2022 - 13:59
pillbug in the middle of moulting, as I watched it, that white bit on the right came off

Amazing Grey poppies - variable shades of colour



possibly Hen and Chicks poppy

the bees have discovered the purple loosestrife, there were 3 bees on them but I only captured 2 in the photo

the bees have discovered the veronica, there were 3 bees on it but I only captured 1 in the photo

greater knapweed

Little Dorrit sunflower

garden catnip (Nepeta faassenii) on the left with purple flowers, catnip (Nepeta cataria) on the right with white flowers

mallow, I think, from wildflower seeds

mallow, I think, from wildflower seeds

Centaurea dealbata with a dandelion self-seeded on it / in it, doesn't look like it will be able to bloom, certainly no sign of a flower stem

Submitted by ju1i3 on Thu, 07/07/2022 - 05:45
bee on heleniums

the heleniums have survived the slugs and snails last year

bee on lupin

marsh mallow

pink dandelion (Crepis rubra)

bread-seed poppy

the slugs and snails ate this flower stem on the hosta and it has collapsed

Submitted by ju1i3 on Tue, 05/07/2022 - 05:49
my fox and Rocky

Victor using a piece of stone edging as a pillow

Scarecrow

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