I’ve always had an interest in the ecosystems and habitats that interface built and natural environments, the places within cities and at their edges where nature finds a foothold largely ignored by people.
It was with this in mind that I journeyed by bike along the Thames towards the Thames Barrier, searching for those magical spaces where a tapestry of plantlife exists within man-made cracks and crevices

Here is a short photo essay.

Buddleja davidii the Butterfly Bush, is a garden escapee species, originally from china  the common name is due to the large numbers of butterflies attracted to its rich nectar.

Grass seed heads against a dumped refuse sack.

Blackberrys growing up through cracks in the pavement, this is the common or uncultivated form otherwise known as Bramble.

Oenothera glazioviana the Evening Primrose growing on the concrete path next to the Thames

Evening Primrose flower head, these are often used in herbal remedies due to the calming, sedative properties in the plant.

Stones, ‘weeds’ and cigarette butts

Papaver rhoeas the common Poppy against a blue fence

Convolvulus arvensis the Common Bindweed amongst Buddleja near Canary Wharf

A type of Plantain stretching its leaves and flowers against a wall

Plants invade a disused jetty

Buddleja with some threads attached

A dead tree is left to rot in a car park near the O2

Sculpture and plants near the O2

Sedge grasses growing on the banks of the Thames near the O2

A forgotten doorway is slowly being reclaimed by nature

Some waste art mimics the natural forms of the vegetation along the riverbank

A local artist reminds us that nature and man can co-exist