In some parts of London, greenery appears hard to come by. On a recent photo walk around Shoreditch, this is the best I did – a scattering of autumn leaves on steps at Arnold Circus, a small park set at the confluence of several streets with a small bandstand at its centre. As this city crawls into winter, fall vegetation is becoming scarcer as it is cleared up and the trees grow bare.

Not so for this upstanding pair of trees I found in the business area near Liverpool Street station, guarding a chunky office block. They look like fish out of water, trying to bring a glimmer of nature to a natureless place…