Seeds and the Mud on my boots

[nightshade]

I clean my walking boots in a couple of places in my garden,depending on the weather, and I am finding some rather nice plants coming up at times does anyone else "collect" plants like this?

[mrs fish]

That's a new way of seed collecting

[IanS]

Another way it to get 3 ton of soil delivered to your house and watch the weeds poke through (supposed to be a veg patch). Fascinating to see what appears. Downside is my wife wants to pull them all up so the veg can grow!

[JennyS]

Make sure she lets you get some photos first!

[Paul mabbott]

Or you can grow your own weeds. I don't do any hasty weeding because you can get some very interesting things coming up. However, I suspect that most of the weeds in my garden come out of my compost - if it's not left long enough to rot all sorts of things can slip through.

This year's is a bit of a surprise though: masses of common yellow flag Iris springing up:

[Paul mabbott]

Another thing that has popped up and stayed in my garden over several years has been this:
This may not be off boots or out of compost originated quite near to a bird feeder. Chould it be one of the Chenopodiaceae?

[Pete Collins]

I've just found some Self-heal in the garden, up against the fence just outside the back door, where I occasionally scrape my boots. That could well be how it got there.

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by Paul mabbott

Another thing that has popped up and stayed in my garden over several years has been this:
This may not be off boots or out of compost originated quite near to a bird feeder. Chould it be one of the Chenopodiaceae?

Wrong family Paul! It seems to be French Sorrel, Rumex scutatus, to me. Unlikely to have come from the wild- perhaps a herb residue?

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by aeshna5

Wrong family Paul! It seems to be French Sorrel, Rumex scutatus, to me. Unlikely to have come from the wild- perhaps a herb residue?

Thanks - I did consider Rumex but thought that I knew all the native and culinary varieties of that species.

I've valiantly tasted it and it's very bitter so I shall make a sauce of it one day .... oddly though, this looks nothing like the 'sorrel' that is growing at the other end of the garden (which I bought!). There seems to be some confusion amongst the 'common' names. e.g. http://www.noblefoodsfarm.com/GreensGuide/sorrel.htm calls this plant 'garden sorrel' while giving the name 'French sorrel' to the more dock-like species ....

This was definitely not planted by me so seeds probably from a neighbour's herb garden?

[Paul mabbott]

Any comments on this one - possibly a Corydalis? Growing in my vegetable plot.