Encroachment

The glorious spell of warm dry weather has come to a halt, bringing showers and cooler conditions. There were compensations...




A particularly fine rainbow made a complete arch across the welkin.

Stefen Hill, Daventry. 1 May, 2020

Although the pocket park at Stefen Hill is surrounded by housing there is, by and large, a clear barrier of some kind between the gardens of the houses and the park itself. There is fencing, there are broad paths and there are thick hedgerows and as a consequence few garden plants find a toehold in the park.

But inevitably there are one or two plants that make, or are in the process of making, the jump - a leap for freedom.

I'll start with Eleagnus x submacrophylla (formerly known as E x ebbingei) although it has been deliberately planted as a barrier and as such forms a hedge with silvery, evergreen leaves. I'll have to wait until the autumn for the fragrant flowers to arrive. Commonly known as Oleaster or, less commonly, Russian olive, it is related to our native Sea Buckthorn. Given the opportunity it will produce reddish oval fruits which, it is claimed, become pleasantly flavoured when ripe. I photographed some last autumn in Byfield.

I photographed Eleagnus x submacrophylla in Byfield last year. It forms

a hedge adjacent to the village hall.

A genuine encroacher is the California Poppy, Escholtzia californica. It is found in California and adjacent states and also in Mexico. It was once grown only as an annual in Britain but is technically a perennial and increasingly survives the mild winters of recent years. However, it is self-incompatible, so that pollen will need to be received from another plant before its ovules and seeds can develop.

 

Californian Poppies are finding a toehold at the edge of Stefen Hill

Pocket Park. 3 May, 2020

It was another dull, rainy day when I attempted to photograph the flowers. Understandably they were reluctant to fully open.

Occasionally a weed can also make the leap from a garden into the pocket park. One example is Cornsalad, Valerianella locusta. It is quite a pretty plant but to appreciate this it is necessary to go on hands and knees for a close look. At a quick glance it can be mistaken for a forget-me-not.




Corn Salad at the edge of Stefen Hill Pocket Park.

29 April, 2020

I suspect Corn Salad will find it difficult to make its presence permanent for it needs patches of bare soil in order to flourish; these are not common in in the park. On the other hand the seeds can probably stay dormant for several years: they play a waiting game and will germinate when conditions are right. In Byfield several plants grow at the base of walls opposite the village school.


There are inevitably plants which make the reverse movement, winding up in gardens having stared in the pocket park. One example is Wild Cherry, Prunus avium. Some gardens bordering the park have cherry saplings popping up in borders and flower beds. Even when not in flower these plants are easy to spot for there are usually some glands on the leaf petiole, i.e. the leaf stalk. There are usually two but in the case shown there are three.

Glands on cherry leaves. Garden alongside Stefen Hill Pocket Park.

3 May, 2020

These glands secrete nectar (they are known as extra-floral nectaries) and in so doing they attract ants. It is possible that in searching for these glands the ants chance upon caterpillars and carry them away. If so then the arrangement is clearly of benefit to both ant and tree.