Two events coming up next weekend:

Saturday 7 October:  Autumn Plant Walk, on Tooting Common, London Borough of Wandsworth, starting at 2.00 p.m. Free, booking not required.

Report:  15 people turned up on an exceptionally warm and sunny afternoon to examine and discuss the plants on a rather bare, recently mown, part of the Common.  Nevertheless we were able to see a wide variety of plants, including wild rose (Rosa sp.), the hips of which one participant remembered collecting and being sold, for, she thought, 3d, in the Lake District in the 1950s, and rather more people remembered using the hairs inside the hips as itching powder.

‘We were really grateful to benefit from his expertise.  We previously knew very little about plants and especially their medical applications and folk histories, which was really interesting, so we came away very enriched.’

Sunday 8 October: Recording allotment ‘weeds’, Tamworth Farm Allotments, London Borough of Merton, 11.00 a.m. – c. 3.00 p.m. (bring packed lunch).  Free, but booking essential.

Report:  Only five of us turned up on a warm morning for what would later be a hot day to wander around the Allotments’ three sites and trying to record the wild plants growing therein.  It was generally thought that the day was enjoyable and worthwhile.  In all 119 species were recorded; anyone who would like the list is invited to contact roy@plant-lore.com.   We hope to continue our allotment surveys by visiting a site in the Richmond area in October 2024.

Image:  cafe on Tooting Common, where the event on 7 October starts, October 2023.