Weed on

Quite possibly!

There's been an initiative in recent years to draw attention to the plants that grow among us in our streets and public places - aka weeds - more often than not grubbed up or destroyed with herbicide in the  name of tidiness.  Botanically- minded folk have been marking  and naming them in chalk on the pavements in an effort to make the people more  aware of the nature that surrounds us, even in towns and cities. The movement started in France but has become world-wide. (Short articles about it here and here. )

I'm delighted because it's long been a private hobby of mine to spot opportunistic plants growing in the urban environment: on walls and  roofs, in car parks and drainage covers, and even sprouting from chimneys. 

Today I was delighted to see this clump of tiny, dusky-blue flowered  Lamb's Lettuce growing  at the foot of a public telephone box. It's also known as Corn Salad and you might find it in a bag of mixed leaves from a supermarket. Next to it,  on the right,  is Hairy Bittercress, another edible wild plant with a  peppery flavour.

I wouldn't pick these for consumption here because, yes - they will very likely have been weed on. But  once across the estuary I collected some sea beet  and some hogweed shoots which went into our vegetable  frittata later in the day.

(I haven't yet got into the habit of carrying chalk but I should do.)