7 spot ladybird foraging on blackthorn
Herring gull in the meadow
White lungwort growing in the pollinator bed.
White ribes or flowering currant
In the Garden 7-spot ladybird, herring gull, lungwort, ribes .
Pelargonium fragrant
Rosemary against the east end of the Church
Salvia guaranties
Alstroemeria - known as Persian lilies
A few pots of flowers in the nursery.
🌿London Day of Nature is approaching! Want a taste of what’s in store? Dive into the recordings from LDN 2024 and explore the topics that shaped our last gathering 🐞🐝
🎥 Catch up on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Join us on 9th May: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/london-day...
Cowslips growing in Beech Gardens on the Barbican Estate.
#YellowSunday - cowslips
Less than a month to go! Happy to share that I will be bringing some copies my “The secret life of a pangolin” zine to sell @yocomicsfair … can’t wait! ✍🏼
A happy frog.
Spawn was laid two weeks later this year.
King Alfred’s cakes are also known as coal fungus.
Tulip turkestanica.
In the Garden - frog and spawn in the meadow pond, King Alfred’s cakes fungus and the first tulip of the year.
Male blackbird
Zelma, the robin - our mascot.
Food for both birds and- wonderful earthworms.
In the Garden - blackbird, robin and earthworms.
Busy frogs laying spawn in both Garden ponds
The frogs are enjoying today’s milder weather.
Lots of activity in both the Garden’s ponds.
Hellebores planted up in the copse and spinney Lords and ladies, wild garlic and bluebells grow here as well. Lesser stag beetles can be occasionally seen.
All planted up in the copse and spinney where lords and ladies, wild garlic and bluebells grow. And the occasional lesser stag beetles are seen.
Excellent - I like the idea of recycling plants!
Volunteers Erica and Lucy on their way to plant hellebores in the Garden.
A wheelbarrow of recycled hellebores on the way to be planted in the Garden.
We have two native hedgerows and both have been laid - the cherry plum flower is a sure sign of spring!
First cherry plum flower of the year in one of the Garden’s two native hedgerows.
Pencil sketch of some of the species and discoveries Darwin is known for such as the Galapagos finches and tortoise from his travels on the HMS Beagle
Happy #DarwinDay
Here’s a little sketch I did a few years ago to celebrate his life and important work, on display @englishheritage.bsky.social Down House gift shop 💚🐦🦎🌎
Amazing!
Frog in the meadow pond today.
Excellent
Frogs and spawn in the meadow pond - last year it was laid 1 February.
Today - frogs and spawn in the meadow pond!
Cherry blossom
Lenten hellebore
Aconites
Crocus
Spring?
#WallsOnWednesday - St Alphage London Wall, City of London.
Sketchbook page inspired by #Sandland manga by Akira Toriyama showing a giant sand eel chasing a couple of characters in a comic layout style
Super excited to have been chosen to take part in the upcoming @yocomicsfair.bsky.social on the 22nd March… do come along and say hello 👋🏼
Preening coot on Barbican Lakeside.
Where’s your other leg?
Tired out having to stand on one leg!
Coot on Barbican Lakeside.
In autumn blue tits enjoy the honey flavoured seeds of the melianthus - we’re always surprised how well the plant grows.
A camouflaged blue tit perched on a melianthus stem #BigGardenBirdWatch
Feral pigeon about to bathe in the Reflection Pool opposite St. Paul’s Cathedral
Zelma the robin - our mascot, keeping a watch over the Garden.
#BigGardenBirdwatch - feral pigeon, 25 Cannon Street and Zelma the robin in the Garden.
It's so good to have some positive news this morning in ZSL's latest State of the Thames report, but there's no room for complacency about the health of our urban rivers. #Thames #waterpollution #conservation #UrbanNature
www.zsl.org/news-and-eve...
In 'Wild Pavements - Exploring Britain's Cities with an Urban Naturalist' (out 5 Mar 2026), I argue that we need a legion of urban naturalists & activists out there holding Central Government, local authorities & ThamesWater to account to make sure there continue to be improvements.
Plane tree bordering the Garden with Blake Tower, one of the four Barbican towers, looming behind.
#thicktrunktuesday plane trees along the northern edge of the Garden with a friendly Lime bike blocking the entrance!
Newly planted silver lime where a large maple once stood.
This silver lime was planted after the Barbican Estate was finished in the early ‘70s.
#thicktrunktuesday hopefully in time this newly planted silver lime in Golden Lane, EC2 will look like it’s big neighbour down the road!
Good morning Blackbirds! Tuning up for the #BigGardenBirdwatch in #Bermondsey starting 23/01/2026. Volume up!
Did you know? Pollinators need more than flowers.
Many solitary bees like this orange-tailed mining bee nest directly in the ground and prefer sandy or loamy soil they can excavate. A lot of hoverflies have aquatic larvae. Habitat variety is just as important as planting.
#PollinatingLT
Ignoring the signs! St James’s Park
