My inner naturalist can’t help noticing two massively widespread invasive species alongside the Danube.

Himalayan balsam seems to have overtaken large parts of wet habitats, and Spanish slugs are everywhere, in the raini weather crawling and dying in masses on the bike path (and feasting on dead conspecifics).

#spanishSlug #himalayanBalsam

This week just gone I did more balsam removal. That might be all I do for the next week or two, trying to get as much as possible before it sets seed.

#EnvironmentThisWeek #HimalayanBalsam #InvasivePlants

This week (ha, I’m early again!) I spent a few hours removing Himalayan balsam from a local area before it sets seed and smothers out more other plants.

Had a few nice chats with people who went past and asked what I was doing.

#EnvironmentThisWeek #HimalayanBalsam #InvasivePlants

Spent the day pulling up invasive Himalayan Balsam, some of which had grown very tall and now when I shut my eyes I just see criss-crossed green lines and purple splotches! #himalayanbalsam

This is a disaster.

But a very pretty disaster.

#himalayanbalsam #invasives #invasivespecies

View out of my plot door  

#Allotment #InvasiveSpecies #HimalayanBalsam

It’s that time of year again: pull up and snap the invasive Himalayan balsam plants before they set seed and crowd out every other plant.

#HimalayanBalsam #InvasivePlants #plants

But it seems you have to sit & eat & cook with your #himalayanbalsam at the site you picked it? #uk
Which with the gin infusion I guess would work 😁
Trickier cooking a balsam curry...
ALIEN INVASION! (but quite pretty).
Himalayan Balsam is, apparently, a threat to our river banks. They thrive there, out-competing our weedy native weeds. Then, when they die off, they leave the banks unprotected, and subject to erosion.
Still, the bees love it.
#photography #HimalayanBalsam #riverbank #flower