Into the best-laid block paving some weed seeds will fall...and I am paid to go down on my knees and prise them out again. Peering at these little plantlets at close quarters I observe how perfectly they adapt to their patios. Their roots go down into the sand on which the blocks or bricks were laid and penetrate the underlying black membrane that was put in place to suppress them. Their leaves lie flat, making them hard to tug, and their seeds, like miniature dandelions, are distributed by the wind. I scrape mosses that cling to longstanding crazy paving, uproot lawn daisies appearing in pockets of soil, tug at willowherb with its delicate pink flowers, oxalis with clover-like dark leaves and shallow-rooted herb robert, whose leaves are fragrant when crushed.
Turning to July's edition of the Royal Horticultural Society's magazine, The Garden, I found an article on how to create a crevice trough for miniature alpines, mimicking their natural habitat. Alpine enthusiasts can thereby showcase their specimen plants. In contrast for two hours I disassemble these tiny ecosystems, along with their accompanying ants, woodlice, centipedes and beetles. Miniature and beautiful common or garden weeds growing in the 'wrong' place.
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