Wallflowers are not the only wall flowers… …nature’s planting design
One of my horticultural highlights is not planted by any human hand. It is the flowers that self seed themselves in the brick and flint walls seen from our street.
Mexican fleabane or Erigeron karvinskianus just loves this dry, sunny habitat. As the name suggests it is native to Mexico and Central America. You can buy it as plugs plants or seeds but the population round our way is mainly self sown - presumably from one or more original garden plants. The plants are compact - only 20-30cm across although they can form larger clumps - and the daisy like flowers become tinged with pink.
A bigger plant that runs rampant in walls round here, poking through the crumbling mortar and no doubt damaging the walls is Red Valerian or Centranthus ruber not to be confused with the sleep inducing herb valerian (Valeriana officinalis). This comes in red and white varieties and is a bit of a thug but quite attractive. Huge clouds of the stuff grow on the giant sea walls in Brighton just down the road from us. At this time of year it is still in its infancy but it will soon grown tall and bloom.
Green alkanet is another vigorous self seeder that will grow literally anywhere. It has thick tap roots which will eventually push into the mortar.
Comfrey is less invasive but will also happily grow here with its pretty white bells. Once the flowers have gone over you can cut the foliage down to the base and use it to make comfrey tea, an excellent plant fertiliser but not to be drunk by humans!
You might think plants can’t move by themselves, but this Cerinthe has other ideas. I used to admire it growing in the flowerbed above this wall as I passed by, but this year it has popped up instead on the pavement below. Another example of nature’s planting design at work!
Flint is a traditional building material in Sussex and it seems it is also an ideal habitat for many flowering plants including this trailing rosemary.
Such is the power of plants to grow in the most unlikely of places that even a shrub such as Cotoneaster horizontalis can establish itself in the nooks and crannies of a wall.
Toadflax is generally considered a weed but its diminutive trailing lilac flowers are so pretty I usually leave them in place when I find it growing in my own garden where it favours cracks between pavers on our stone steps.
The base of walls is a favourite place for plants to self seed. I am very much hoping our local council won’t spray these beauties including calendula, forget-me-nots, ransoms and purple honesty.
Around our gatepost we have a mini landscape of self seeded garden flowers including bronze fennel and Jerusalem sage (Phlomis).
Meanwhile purple campanula runs rampant over our walls, fanning artistically upwards from our outdoor security light. No human designer could ever achieve anything like this.
