Blackheath Weeds or Wildflowers?
Whether surveying a garden for future design or attending during a garden care session we do see the same familiar plants. While usually considered weeds due to their abundance and ability to dominate a site, they're essentially thriving in our SE London microclimate and soil.
A common definition of a weed is that of a plant in the wrong place. However, thats usually an aesthetic or an inability to control view rather than that of a well-suited, naturalised or native plant, requiring little intervention and supporting biodiversity. Hold on, isn't that a wildflower?!
Here's three common plants particularly seen in the Blackheath area with our take on their pro's and con's and how we manage them.
Green alkanet is ubiquitous perennial with sky blue flowers & bristly leaves. A member of the borage family; however while having edible flowers and being a magnet for bees & other pollinators it's super successful at colonising large areas inc. degraded lawns & bare earth. Larger plants have taps roots impossible to fully remove, sometimes over 50cm long & together with the ability to seed profusely can get out of hand quickly. Smaller plant are hand-pulled or hoed-off, but we spot apply Round-up to established plants. We prefer not to use any chemicals but if used responsibly then can be a very effective approach. Generally if present in a garden we try to keep a manageable amount due to their visual appeal & benefits to biodiversity. Moreover, while technically not native, having been introduced somewhere between 1500-1700, its a familiar presence in our area & one we should better appreciate if not manage more responsibly.
From Russia with love?? Some texts reference annual mercury arriving to the UK in sacks of Russian wheat ! Whether true or otherwise, you'll spot a trend here. As above, it loves poor soil, open bare spaces & warm urban sites. For us its the sign of spring (!), it quickly develops in a dense crop from the dormant seeds in the soil. It lives fast & dies fast but is very successful at spreading fast, very fast. Tbh I think its a relatively understudied plant and not a lot of immediate information as to its benefits nor contribution to biodiversity. The good news is that it can be readily hand-pulled out or hoed-off, however, as a member of the spurge family it does have a milky sap which could irritate tender skin so wear gloves. Similar to green alkanet, we try to keep a limited area as undoubtably its benefiting something albeit we're not quite sure what! If you want to control it long-term then simply reduce bare space by dense planting and crowding it out. Just say NYET!
What a stinker! Stinking iris, stinking Gladwyn (whoever he's is/was?!), poor Iris foetidissima suffers a bit from its crushed leaf 'aroma' some say similar to roast beef...
Unless your up-close & personnal you won't notice that, but neither the delicate, quite stunning flowers. Sadly, similar to other Iris species the flower its short in bloom so you'll probably notice the subsequent berries in autumn instead. The RHS notes the berries as being poisonous to animals and humans so perhaps remove them (the berries) or avoid with young kids. However, be pragmatic as in our experience this native is a good do'er with architecturally strappy evergreen leaves & attractive to bees. We usually divide clumps & pop the off-cuts straight into the ground. For sure its doing well through out SE London as tolerant of many soil and aspect types. As in all cases being attentive & very little management can keep it in check easily.
Comments