Russian comfrey, Symphytum x uplandicum. Comfrey is a particularly valuable source of fertility to the organic gardener and is used as a compost activator, liquid fertiliser, mulch or potting mixture. Comfreys have been used as traditional medicinal plants in Europe for centuries. Russian comfrey can be considered as a toxic plant and some comfrey products have been banned for human […]
Russian vine, Fallopia baldschuanica. Known by several common names including mile-a-minute and silver lace vine, it is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family. It is a fast-growing plant that is grown as cover but has the capacity to grow beyond its intended limits. It is another of the species that needs to be kept under control or it […]
Scilla, Scilla siberica. Small, pretty early spring-flowering bulbs with star shaped flowers most suited to deciduous woodlands.
Seven spot ladybird, Coccinella septempunctata. Probably the most well known beetle in the UK. The red body with black spots acts as a warning to predators that they taste awful. They feed both on aphids and scale insects and vegetation matter and fungi. There are 6,000 known species of Ladybird. The UK seven spot is becoming vastly outnumbered by another […]
Shield fern, Polystichum setiferum. The fern’s bright green fronds are 30-120 cm long, usually drooping downslope, with typically 4-10 fronds on a mature plant. WT
Silver YAutographa gamma Most common during the late summer. At times, this migrant may be a very common visitor, especially in flowery grasslands such as those in Stroud Green where this one was photographed. Active day and night. It breeds here, but the early stages cannot survive our winters although that may be changing. It has a silver, Y-shaped mark […]
Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas. There are typically 2 or 3 generations each year between late April and October, depending on the weather, with 4 generations in extremely good years. Males are territorial, often choosing a piece of bare ground or a stone on which to bask and await passing females. They behave aggressively towards any passing insects and even shadows of passing […]
Small Skipper, Thymelicus sylvestris. Small Skippers are insects of high summer. Although they spend much of their time basking or resting among vegetation, they are marvellous flyers, manoeuvring expertly through tall grass stems. The favoured food plant is Yorkshire Fog/ They are strongly attracted to purple flowers such as Thistles and Knapweeds.
Small Tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae. Unfortunately, this most-familiar of butterflies has suffered a worrying decline, especially in the south, over the last few years. One theory is the increasing presence of a particular parasitic fly, Sturmia bella, due to global warming. It is believed that the lifecycle of the Small Tortoiseshell is better-synchronised with that of the fly and it is therefore more […]
Song thrush, Turdus philomelos. A familiar and popular garden songbird whose numbers are declining seriously, especially on farmland making it a Red List species. Smaller and browner than a mistle thrush with smaller spotting. Its habit of repeating song phrases distinguish it from singing blackbirds. It likes to eat snails which it breaks into by smashing them against a stone […]
