April, 15. 2025
Look at this little beauty!
It’s growing right out of the crack in the pavement, just in front of the accommodation here in Edinburgh.
Just a few weeks ago, I applied for the Slow Travel Residency in Scotland - and now, here I am, strolling through the streets of Edinburgh. The residency focuses on four key themes: sustainable cities, circular design, the ocean, and rewilding. It all culminates in an exhibition held during Earth Month.
As I walk through the city, I find the most sustainable presence in the little weeds growing out of the cracks. When I’m in the center, surrounded by blank pavement, I miss them. Those small bursts of green, pink, purple, and yellow bring life to the city.
Isnt it amazing how they grow out of the most hostile places?
One afternoon, I took a closer look at the plants growing in front of our accommodation - a narrow strip between the wall and the pavement, about 3 meters long and 30 centimeters wide. With the help of Flora Incognita (an app for identifying plants), I was able to identify 19 different plant species, along with a few more that were too small to recognize. There were also lichens and mosses thriving there. Of the 19 identified species, 14 are edible, and all but one are beneficial to a variety of insects—wild bees, moths, bugs, and more.
With these photos, I want to offer a new perspective on these so-called 'weeds.' By getting down to ground level and shifting my viewpoint, I can truly see how strong they are—pushing their way through the pavement.
I wish we would break up more pavement and just let it be. It doesn’t have to be much—just a few stones, or one or two parking spots per street. We could help by planting wildflowers, or we could simply step back and let nature do what it does best: grow.
list of observed plants
wallspeedwell, henbit, great plantain, wood avens, prickly sowthistle, spear-leaved willow herb, black yarrow, common whistlowgrass, bedstraw, dandelion, sticky mouse-ear duckweed, chickweed, hairy bittercress, ivy-leaved toadflax;
NOT EDIBLE: groundsel, annual meadow grass, woodland ragwort, hart's tongue fern, purple rock cress
April, 15. 2025
Look at this little beauty!
It’s growing right out of the crack in the pavement, just in front of the accommodation here in Edinburgh.
Just a few weeks ago, I applied for the Slow Travel Residency in Scotland - and now, here I am, strolling through the streets of Edinburgh. The residency focuses on four key themes: sustainable cities, circular design, the ocean, and rewilding. It all culminates in an exhibition held during Earth Month.
As I walk through the city, I find the most sustainable presence in the little weeds growing out of the cracks. When I’m in the center, surrounded by blank pavement, I miss them. Those small bursts of green, pink, purple, and yellow bring life to the city.
Isnt it amazing how they grow out of the most hostile places?
One afternoon, I took a closer look at the plants growing in front of our accommodation - a narrow strip between the wall and the pavement, about 3 meters long and 30 centimeters wide. With the help of Flora Incognita (an app for identifying plants), I was able to identify 19 different plant species, along with a few more that were too small to recognize. There were also lichens and mosses thriving there. Of the 19 identified species, 14 are edible, and all but one are beneficial to a variety of insects—wild bees, moths, bugs, and more.
With these photos, I want to offer a new perspective on these so-called 'weeds.' By getting down to ground level and shifting my viewpoint, I can truly see how strong they are—pushing their way through the pavement.
I wish we would break up more pavement and just let it be. It doesn’t have to be much—just a few stones, or one or two parking spots per street. We could help by planting wildflowers, or we could simply step back and let nature do what it does best: grow.
list of observed plants
wallspeedwell, henbit, great plantain, wood avens, prickly sowthistle, spear-leaved willow herb, black yarrow, common whistlowgrass, bedstraw, dandelion, sticky mouse-ear duckweed, chickweed, hairy bittercress, ivy-leaved toadflax;
NOT EDIBLE: groundsel, annual meadow grass, woodland ragwort, hart's tongue fern, purple rock cress
back to top
For the headlines I used the FAUNE font, which is a type-project by Alice Savoie
All pictures I made myself, except the ones where I am photographed. All rights belong to me.
Antonia Ablass antonia.ablass@posteo.de instagram: @plantextile
back to top
For the headlines I used the FAUNE font, which is a type-project by Alice Savoie
All pictures I made myself, except the ones where I am photographed. All rights belong to me.
Antonia Ablass antonia.ablass@posteo.de instagram: @plantextile