Hollyhock on the unadopted road

Dear Readers, it’s always nice to rediscover places that are familiar to you, but not to the person that you’re walking with. Today, I took a walk along the unadopted road that leads to Cherry Tree Wood here in East Finchley with my friend S. I remember my joy when I first came across this strange little path, that leads between the garden ends of two blocks of housing. It’s a bit straggly and random, but then so am I, so I love the mixture of domesticated and wild that the plants represent. At one point, there is a stately hollyhock just getting ready to come into flower, next to a magnificent fennel plant.

Someone has strewn some wildflower seeds, so there are poppies and ox-eye daisies…

But there are also the wilder sisters of these plants. There’s nipplewort aplenty…

The little shaggy wigs of herb bennet…

and the red leaves of herb robert blazing away behind the grass.

But this is a bit of a mystery. S had a look on iNaturalist, and we both think that it’s probably rosy garlic (Allium roseum) – this is a new plant to me, but is apparently an introduced plant, usually found on sandy or rocky ground. So, what it’s doing here is anyone’s guess, but then such are the joys of the unadopted road. The leaves didn’t seem to have any garlicky smell, but apparently the bulb is enough to deter squirrels and deer, so it must be pretty pungent. You’d almost think that the little red objects were berries, but in fact they’re bulbils, already to go.

And of course, we couldn’t leave the unadopted road without taking a turn around Cherry Tree Wood, in particular to have a look at what I think is the finest wild service tree in Barnet. It grows right next to the splendid café, and I think it will be covered in berries this year.

And finally, a quick look at the completed mosaic on the wall of the women’s toilet. Made by Debora Singer, it shows many of the key plants and animals that live in Cherry Tree Wood, including parakeets, yellow flag iris (in the wetland area beside the tennis courts), a red admiral butterfly and the splendid Archer from East Finchley station. It’s gorgeous, and although some urchins have covered the plaster beneath the mosaic in black graffiti, the mosaic itself is untouched, so thanks for that, at least.

There is a lot of good work going on in Cherry Tree Wood – I noticed a fenced-off area to protect the wood anemones, and a bug hotel (‘Bugingham Palace’). All in all, we are so lucky to have so many pockets of ancient woodland and other green spaces so close to where we live. And what could be nicer than exploring them with someone else who is a bit of a plant enthusiast! Well, maybe getting home before the rain started was an additional bonus.