One other plant community that you are able to botanize in these times of lock-down is the supermarket car park, as you stand in line outside, dutifully distancing. I’ll talk you through the species in sequence, starting with those that are easiest to identify.

They need to be cheap, tough, low maintenance, vandal-proof, preferably evergreen, and ideally intruder-resisting. Such a demanding list of desiderata inevitably means that the choice of species is rather limited, but landscapers have tended to choose a much more limited palette.

Brachyglottis x jubar (Senecio) ‘Sunshine’ (Asteraceae). Prunus laurocerasus ‘Otto Lukyen’ (Rosaceae)

Pyracantha coccinea (Rosaceae). Fatsia japonica (Araliaceae)

Choisya ternata (Rutaceae). Aucuba japonica (Garryaceae)

Symphoricarpos x chenaultii (Caprifoliaceae) Hedrea colchica (Araliaceae) as ground cover

Phlomis fruticosa (Lamiaceae). Spiraea x pseudosalicifolia (Rosaceae)

Hypericum ‘Hidcote’ (Hypericaceae). Veronica (= Hebe) ‘Midsummer Beauty’ (Veronicaceae)

Skimmia x confusa (Rutaceae). Photinia (= Stranvaesia) ‘Red Robin’ (Rosaceae).

Hippophae rhamnoides (Elaeagnaceae) Nerium oleander (Apocynaceae)

Elaeagnus ebbingei & E. ‘Quicksilver’ (Elaeagnaceae)

Vinca major 'Variegata' (left) & Vinca minor (right) (Apocynaceae)

Berberis thunbergii & B. julianae (Berberidaceae) and lots of others so take care with ID here

Cotoneaster franchetii & lots of others so take care with ID here (left). Lonicera pileata (right) Caprifoliaceae.