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| Mallow (Malva sylvestris) |
Until last week, I'd only been to Hampton Court as a child on a family outing and, from that, I remember only the kitchens and the plaster mouldings. Odd. History is often lost on the very young. Ten days ago, I was able to pop along to the RHS Flower Show preview day and had a wonderful, if hot, day - more of which, later.
But the best bit of the day, after all those thought provoking beautiful gardens, was this: a 50 yard stretch of natural beauty along the riverbank path on the way back to the station. I can't help thinking that all those commuters rushing past are missing a trick.
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| Goat's Rue (Galega officinalis). Now there's a plant that I'd deliberately grow in the garden. |
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| Ox-eye daisies and something purple, possibly Wild Clary, Selfheal or Bugloss - anyone care to enlighten me? |
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| Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) - great for bees and adding a nice splash of colour to the path. |
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| And this white flower - I'm thinking Yarrow but maybe not as it was low growing? |
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Nope, still guessing…
(See comments below: we now think these brown seedheads are Plantain - thanks Emma!) |
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| The yellow flowers look like rocket or brassica flowers. Any clues? |
The rurbanite* in my soul thought this was gorgeous and wanted to share. Being a bit of a North Londoner, it's not often that I come across such breathtaking beauty, perfectly lit by the early evening sun. Whether the planting along the path is by nature or nurture, I can't tell. Whatever. Well done, that borough council if they had a hand in this - even by not cutting it back. It fair made my day, and probably that of quite a few bees and butterflies. I wish I'd photographed the leaves of these plants as that might make identification a lot easier - still, there's always a return visit.
*Rurbanite: lives in the city, heart in the country. As coined by Alex Mitchell in her book
'The Rurbanite'.
