Teasel (Dispascus fullonum). The flowerhead has hundreds of tiny flowers. They start in a band in the middle then flower up and down the cone. So this one must be in the latter stage of flowering.
IN A GREEN SHADE
A diary of back garden botany, urban ecology, rural rambles and field trips to the middle of nowhere...
Wednesday, 23 July 2025
Tuesday, 22 July 2025
Common Chicory (Cichorium intybus) pops up here and there in the countryside. I had always thought it to be an introduction to these shores but various sources list it as native. Actually I don't think it looks very 'British'. I reckon it drifted in from southern Europe sometime in the distant past.
Also grown in gardens and probably a garden escape in some locales. An edible herb, ancestor of culinary Chicory.
Thursday, 17 July 2025
Wednesday, 16 July 2025
I remember the mild spring following a cold winter was tremendous for apple blossom. Perhaps this has been offset somewhat by the drought which may have implications for the harvest.
However there's a good crop on a couple of apple trees at the music school which are the remnants of an orchard from its heyday as a Victorian country house.
I can vouch for the one shown above. I plucked it and ate it after taking the photograph and it was delicious!
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