Impatiens glandulifera ...

..or Himalayan Balsam, Policeman's Helmet, Bobby Tops, Copper Tops, or Gnome's Hatstand. Whatever you call it, it's a bit of thug, rapidly colonising and excluding some more of the more congenial large herbaecous plants, such as comfrey. Twenty years ago, when I came to this neighbourhood, the cycle track was lined with comfrey - now it is all Himalayan Balsam. Apparently, the only thing to do is to organise gangs of Balsam Bashers.

Sundays are grandparenting days for us. We spent a happy hour at Victoria Park until the rain drove us into Kelvingrove. We are here regulalry, but the VSP never tires of it. Back home for some indoor play with brief forays into the garden between showers when the VSP helped me pick tomatoes and sort potatoes for storage. After dinner, in a brief dry spell he whizzed along the cycle track, now very competent on his pedal bike, although he still wants to believe we are helping him.

GOOD THINGS
Friendly people in the park
The taste of home grown sun gold tomatoes
The under gardener