Common poppy (Papaver rhoeas)

Dear Readers, I am always astonished by the plants that just seem to pop up in urban areas. This poppy has emerged from the pot where I planted some crocuses earlier this year, and I have no idea where it has come from – much as I like poppies, I’ve never planted them, so this is something of a gift. I love the way that the bud seems almost too heavy for the stem, and how the flower opens its face to the sun. I fully expect all the petals on this one to have dropped by this evening – it is amongst the most ephemeral of plants, plus we are expecting a thunderstorm here at (checks watch) 15.00 so that should put paid to that.

I am also noticing the ants marching up and down the stem. Chances are that they’re moving some aphids about, bless them. We also have a few ants in the living room at the moment – they must feel as if they’re marching across some huge, featureless plain as they explore the floorboards in search of something edible, though I notice that they walk right over the croissant crumb that some greedy person dropped in their haste to get some carbohydrates this morning. They seem to have a great fondness for cat food however, so I have moved the cat’s feeding bowls upstairs. Let’s hope the ants never get their heads around stairs.

This morning I was over at Coldfall Wood, and, growing right beside the road I spotted another plant that I’d not seen before. The yellow chap in the middle of the photo is goatsbeard (Tragopogon pratensis) – otherwise known as salsify, though it’s another species with purple flowers that is the one where the roots are eaten in fancy restaurants. There is lots of purple salsify over in St Pancras and Islington Cemetery and, as with this yellow species, I have no idea where it’s come from, or why it’s popped up now. But it does show, yet again, that an interest in plants (or indeed any part of the natural world) enlivens even the most ordinary of days. You just never know what you’re going to see when you step out of the front door.