There is no shortage of Comfrey on the allotment so I decided to scale up the production of Comfrey tea from a bucket to a water butt. Comfrey leaves are a good source of NPK (nitrogen/potash/potassium). Actually I chop up the stems as well though perhaps the goodness is concentrated in the leaves. Add water and let them steep till it becomes a potent though smelly brew.

 NB That reminds me that I've been writing a series of entries on the various types of Comfrey. By this point in the season it's mainly a purple flowered Comfrey on the allotment. I assume this is Russian Comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum ) which is the hybrid S. officinale x S. asperum. Actually S. officinale aka Common Comfrey looks very similar though Russian Comfrey tends to have darker flowers, is bristlier and grows on drier soil.

 S. x uplandicum re-crosses readily with S. officinale so the exact genetics are moot. Henry Doubleday is said to have trialed 21 strains of Russian Comfrey at his research site in Bocking, Essex. He concluded that "Bocking 14" was the best for fertiliser and "Bocking 4" for livestock forage.     

 

 

 Clumps of Geranium x oxonianum flower prolifically in June and into July as observed in my previous entry. Both bumblebees and honeybees are all over them. The "June gap" or "nectar dearth" can be a difficult period for bees. Trees in particular are a plentiful source of pollen and nectar in spring. In June there can be a lag between spring flowers fading and summer flowers blooming. So species that fill that gap serve an important purpose.

 

 

  A couple more pictures of Geranium x oxonianum in full flower. In the section shown below they form the front of a very mixed bed which is starting to reach my ideal of a layered successional planting. From spring to autumn plants come into flower as others fade; taller species grow through smaller ones as the year progresses. 

 

 A glimpse of the countryside in the heart of South London. I took a train out of London Bridge and it stopped briefly at a signal in the not at all rural surroundings of the Millwall industrial area. I noticed this embankment was rich in native wildflowers like Field Scabious, Greater Knapweed, Ox-eye Daisy and Musk Mallow. The carriage was one of the older models which still have windows that open so I stuck my camera out for a quick pic.

 Railway lines are a rich source of wildflowers: embankments, cuttings, verges and gravel make good habitats. The ground alongside the tracks is sometimes neglected and sometimes disturbed by maintenance work. Indeed trains themselves can carry seeds along in their wake. These factors are ideal for propagating certain species.

 Often as not the plants which proliferate are species that have naturalised in the UK. Drifts of Red Valerian, Rosebay Willowherb, Ragwort, Goldenrod and Michaelmas Daisies are commonplace. The embankment I saw today was rather like a meadow of old which makes me wonder if it had been sown intentionally. Then again some of our country flowers may have made their own way into town.

 

 The allotment is a work in progress. This bed is closest to what I have in mind. It contains various plants that thrive in the conditions and with each other. No maintenance is required other than a clear up in autumn and spring (and no watering). They create sufficient groundcover to keep the couch grass and bindweed at bay.

 The species are mainly perennials including Thyme, Babbington's Leek, Sage, Greek Oregano, Lemon Balm, Lovage, Chives, Fennel, Globe Artichoke, Garlic Cress and Rosemary. Several self-seeders have made their own way in: Spinach Beet, Garlic Mustard and Hedge Woundwort.

 The soil on the allotment drys out quickly, is fairly grainy and not high in nutrients which suits plants like these. In fact the more usual annual crops don't do well here. Lots of watering, weeding and soil improvement helps but I prefer to plant to the conditions with one or two exceptions (e.g. trench composting for Runner Beans). Having established the principle I will aim to expand this bed with more of the above and other species with similar requirements.  

 

 Arable weeds aka wildflowers have been largely eradicated by intensive farming. Annuals like White Campion (Silene latifolia) and the Field Poppy (Papaver rhoeas) still persist on the margins.

 

 Took a walk towards them thar Chiltern Hills from the outskirts of Hitchin. The fields on this stretch of the Chiltern Way are mostly large and intensively farmed so the hedgerows and field margins are the best place to spot wildflowers.

 

 

 There was a lot of Privet in flower, probably the native Wild Privet (Ligustrum vulgare). Garden hedges tend to be the Japanese/Korean species Ligustrum ovalifolium but L. vulgare was commonly used in the farm hedges of old. It is noted for being wildlife friendly.

  It was a bit cool and breezy for bees and butterflies but there are other pollinators. I noticed the flowers of the wild roses were crawling with some tiny insect with a hard shell. The Dog Rose (Rosa canina) is another native of old hedgerows.

  Common wildflowers like Ox-eye Diasy (Leucanthemum vulgare) were quite prolific. I've known this route to be more flowery and spotted some more unusual species at the same time of year but the wildflower season is very variable depending on conditions.