I grew this Echium wildpretii in my front garden and I'm happy to say it became a local sensation last year when word of it traveled round the neighbourhood. The blue flowered Echium pininana has started to naturalise in London and warmer parts of the country but E. wildpretii  -sometimes known as Tower of Jewels- is rare in cultivation.

 These enormous Echiums hail from the Canary Islands though mine was given to me in a small pot in its first year of growth by one of the gardeners at the South London Botanical Institute. In their second year they form a stout stem about a metre tall with long slender leaves. In year three they produce a mighty spike of flowers, seed prolifically then die.

 I was thrilled therefore when my flatmate drew my attention to what appear to be Echiums that have self-seeded in the cracks of the paving stones below where the Tower of Jewels stood. I noticed them poking through a few weeks ago but didn't look too closely.

 They won't survive the attentions of the local council so I dug them out as best I could. I was able to prise out the whole tap root of the smaller ones. The roots snapped on the larger specimens but they might recover.

 I potted them up so hopefully some or all will be plantable in the spring.

 Not only that- they're sprouting all over! Here are some more at the base of a nearby cherry tree and they've germinated in other available gaps and cracks in the vicinity. The streets of New Cross Gate seem far removed from the volcanic landscapes of the Canary Islands but Echium wildpretii seems to have gained a foothold.