Beautiful seeds of Buddleia on the edge of the Wharf in Cardiff Bay
I have now discovered that I can walk all the way around the old East Bute Dock that runs alongside my new workplace at Cardiff’s County Hall. And I now know what everyone calls this rectangular pool of water – the Wharf. I had been calling it the dock or the pond or the lake, none of which seemed to be accurate.
It takes me half an hour to walk all the way around – or an hour if I take my camera with me. Last week I spent my lunch-hour there and took more than 100 pictures. So I won’t dump them all on you at once. Firstly, and particularly for Lucy Corrander, I will focus on what would be “street plants” if this were a street. Some are totally wild and native, some are urban escapees.
There are plenty of Buddleias or butterfly bushes around the water…
…and they are showing new grey-green growth
This, next to a hoarding around an apartment construction site, seems to be a brassica/crucifera…
…similar to this one at the water’s edge…
…with distinctive four-petal yellow flowers
This is a strangely purple goosegrass or cleavers (Galium aparine)
Perhaps some sort of vetch?
This looks like yarrow (Achillea millefolium) breaking through dead leaves
This bush has been flowering for the last couple of months – it seems to be a viburnum, perhaps Viburnum tinus…
…Viburnum flowers…
…and these must be the blue fruits beginning to grow
Fruits of ivy (Hedera) …
…a beautiful purple-black
This looks to be a different ivy, tinged with gold and red…
…a closer look
This is a much more cultivated ivy, in a planting scheme alongside the Wharf-side apartments…
…I think these shoots among the ivy are periwinkle (Vinca)
I love the shape of these dead stems beside the water, which is reflecting the sky…
…I feel I should recognise them…
…any idea?
This seed pod of a climbing plant also rings a bell but I can’t name it
The sunshine on this looked like spun gold or copper – I thought it was fishing line, but it seems to have clumps in it, reminding me of wild Clematis vitalba (old man’s beard)
Bulrush or reedmace (Typha) – with the seed-fluff coming out
Of course there are always flowerless plants, but I couldn’t get close to these, at the water’s edge…
Moss…
…more moss…
…and yellow lichen
If you have a street-plants blog post to share, why not visit Lucy Corrander’s Loose and Leafy in Halifax? Here’s her latest link box.
The Squirrelbasket 
Certainly looks like Viburnum tinus to me. I have a vague recollection from my rhs studies that purple tints on tomato foliage is to do with..er.. magnesium deficiency – maybe there’s something similar going on with the goosegrass..?
Interesting thought – this is rather an industrial area – or was before it became gentrified. The goosegrass is on the edge of a building site, so it could maybe be too much of something bad as well as too little magnesium…
All the best 🙂
Thanks for sharing Pat – I always enjoy ‘looking’ through your eyes.
We planted Viburnum tinus in our front garden which did really well for years but sadly died late summer. They were a fabulous ‘shelter’ from passersby etc (feel so vulnerable now they’re gone!). Now to decide what to grow next …
Something prickly?
Viburnum always seems a very Victorian or Edwardian plant to me, but very attractive and useful for birds.
All the best 🙂
You have quite a diverse wild plant base there, it should get even more interesting when the Spring is more advanced.
Yes, I am looking forward to it – I love watching a new ecosystem.
All the best 🙂
Purple goosegrass! It would be interesting if you collect seeds when they come and find out whether the purple is to do with a deficiency or a new kind of plant. Wouldn’t that be wonderful! (Though I suppose, given the location, pollution could be a cause ?????????
Yes, pollution is a distinct possibility!
I will keep an eye on it while I can – I guess the hoardings will come down soon as the apartments being built there are well advanced. And then I guess the goosegrass will disappear.
Best wishes 🙂