September may feel like the end of the flowering season, but saltmarshes and downs still shimmer with life. On the tidal edges, purple sea asters—aptly named “Summer’s farewell”—create dazzling swathes, joined by sea lavender, marsh mallow, and the delicate hues of sea rocket and sea spurrey. Even edible treasures like sea beet and wild celery thrive along the estuaries. Further inland, the downs still carry late blooms of scabious, harebells, thyme, and the striking carline thistle, with its golden halo once used as a natural weather gauge. And just when you thought spring was long gone, September surprises with a “false spring,” as violets, speedwell, and even wild strawberries flower once again.
Come back on September 3rd to uncover the coastal and downland wonders still in bloom!
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Saltmarshes
Saltings and saltmarshes, where they still exist, are also well worth visiting this month as there are usually a small number of attractive mainly purple and pink flowers to be seen there. Wherever there are colonies of sea aster Aster tripolium dotted across the tidal mud they continue to provide one of the most attractive floral displays of the month. In such situations these small purple and yellow flowers deserve their alternative name of Summer’s farewell. Swathes of it can be found further down the estuary in places such as Two-tree island but much smaller patches do still occur at Greenwich and even as high up river as the Pool of London. Sea lavender Limonium vulgare is the other coastal plant which is still capable at so late a date of making an impressive display. Alas no more in London, although it did in the past grow as centrally as Greenwich.
In sandy areas, often beside paths, sea rocket Cakile maritima may be found as well as greater and lesser sea spurrey (Spergularia media and S. marina). They all have flowers in an attractive range of soft pinks and purples although the former occasionally has white flowers. Marsh mallow Althaea officinalis which always stands out wherever it is found is more of a pale washed pink. Its roots are capable of releasing large amounts of an inoffensive mucilage which used to be used to soothe sore throats.
Perhaps because of this it has virtually disappeared from the edge of the Thames where it was common two centuries ago. Two good edible species often seen whilst walking along the estuary are sea beet Beta vulgaris and wild celery Apium graveolens. Sea beet is one of the better wild substitutes of spinach and the seeds of wild celery, if collected this month and sown in gardens, will provide salad celery leaves for most of next year.
Two other highly attractive coastal plants still in flower are thrift Armeria maritima and bloody cranesbill Geranium sanguineum although they are now more likely to be seen in gardens than they are in the wild. Swanscombe marshes and Two tree island are good places not too far from London to see a number of these plants including a rare hybrid of greater and lesser sea spurrey at the former.
Downs
Although the general colour across downland is much reduced this month there are still quite a few flowers to be seen. In the short turf you might still expect cat’s ear, marjoram, eyebright, thyme, wild basil, harebell and, with luck, felwort. In slightly longer grass, heads of common and devil’s scabious, hardhead, greater knapweed, agrimony and mignonette may all still be sticking out. On the slopes carline thistles, which deterred picnicers earlier in the summer, now have a bright halo of shiny straw-coloured spines. These open and close depending upon the humidity and were used in the past as weather indicators. Rather grandly this thistle was named after the emperor Charlemagne, who apparently was visited by an angel who extolled to him the virtues of the plant. On Banstead down, which still holds some of the botanical crown jewels of London, the cut-leaved germander Teucrium botrys hopefully can still be seen. At one time there were thousands but there may still be enough to merit the regular ploughing of the field margins which are its preferred habitat. The patches of chalk downland at High Elms are good places to see these flowers.
A surprising feature of some of the wild flowers we notice in September is that there is a small number which flowered in spring and now enjoy a second flowering. Violets, self-heal, heartsease, germander, speedwell and wild strawberries can all fall into this category. In gardens it may be primroses, Ceonothus and Virburnum tinus we start to see flowering again. Even plants that have never really been out of flower are prone to a second flush e.g. red and white campion, purple deadnettle, shepherd’s purse, chickweed and herb Robert. On marshy ground a few new flowers of ragged robin and marsh marigold may also be noticed. A second brood of brimstone butterflies completes the illusion of this second, usually short-lived, “spring”.
