Space invaders

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I've never been particularly interested in gardening, but when I moved into my flat I bought a few pot plants for the balcony, just because it looked so empty. This summer has been extremely wet - storms nearly every day - which has meant that I haven't needed to worry much about watering these plants, they've grown like mad things all on their own. The pots have also been invaded by a variety of other species. I rip out the bigger weeds when they start to outgrow the original occupants, but each pot now sports a rich undergrowth which is too much trouble to get rid of.

I've never seen birds paying any attention to my pot plants, so all of these visitors presumably arrived through the air - which just goes to show how efficient plants are at propagating themselves - one has even taken up residence in a crack in the side of the building - and this is a new build. But on the other hand I was watching a DVD of the BBC Life series the other evening and David Attenborough pointed out that plants have been around for half a billion years - so they know a thing or two about moving into available spaces.