Plant mimicry, etc

 

Some photos from Laura's highly organic and intermixed garden in Frome, mostly taken on 8th-9th September 2023.

You never know what you're going to get with Google Lens, but here one of its guesses looks spot on: Rosa 'Sunflare'.

(On the other hand, it completely failed with the highly recognizable Rosa 'Jacqueline du Pré', so basically it is what it is.)

The spotting on the leaves is from a dusty rain shower in Frome a couple of mornings ago,  which was great news for the local car wash businesses.

Rosa 'Sunflare', flower just opening.

Rosa 'Sunflare' with ripening tomatoes, blackcurrant, Erigeron, Pulmonaria, Meadow Cranesbill (Geranium pratensis), Campanula and a lot more.

Rosa 'Jacqueline du Pré', with those distinctive red stamens, in my Mum and Dad's garden in Sussex, 7 September 2023. Google Lens please note!

Since writing this, my parents WhatsApped a pic of the late spray looking even better. Here it is:

Rosa 'Jacqueline du Pré'. Battle, 11 September 2023.

Dandelion leaves mimicking Meadow Cranesbill

Laura and I often joke (especially when weeding) about how plants growing together seem to disguise themselves as each other, but it isn't altogether a joke. Some of the reasons are perfectly well known (e.g. convergence due to common soil conditions, competition for light, adapting to dominant tessellation), but there's a lot more to it. Here are some dandelion leaves doing imitations of the plants nearby.

Dandelion leaf mimicking Pulmonaria

Dandelion leaf mimicking Lathyrus

Dandelion leaf mimicking the parallel sides of grass leaves

Potentilla fruticosa 'Primrose Beauty', late in the season with more fruits than flowers, along with a second flush of Red Valerian, and one or two Japanese Anemones.

A hawkweed that's snuck into the patio.

Fuschia, box, Clematis montana.

Lady's Mantle with dewdrops.

Lady's Mantle as it was left after the dusty rain shower had dried up.