Trough harvest

[igenlode]

I have been collecting cornflower seed (and have discovered, since the plant is leaning over a clear patch of balcony rather than other pots, that the reason why I struggled to find any in the past is that the 'window' during which the seed is harvestable is a pretty short one, since when the fluffy seed heads have opened it is generally a sign that the actual seeds have dropped out!) and have now gleaned what I could from the two varieties of Gypsophila in the trough. I never did identify the plants that looked like snapdragon but were not any kind of toadflax or other Linaria that I could see, but the above seed is from the delicate white Gypsophila elegans.

I have one single plant that looks like flax from the Flowers for Birds half of the trough, but the 'flax' in there was supposed to be Linum rubrum and this flower-bud is blue, so I imagine that it is just another bird-gift, or a leftover from last year. Apart from that I see no sign that *any* of the buckwheat husk stuff germinated, I'm afraid; the only plants I have in there are the usual chickweed, corn-marigold, red poppy, corn-chamomile, speedwell and forget-me-not.