Spotted

Such a beautiful last day of August.  We popped out this morning to take two boxes of bits and bobs to a charity shop where we could park near the donation point as they were quite heavy.  Back home work has been done in the garden followed by the treat of an ice cream eaten in the shade at the top of the garden. 

The sun has encouraged butterflies and dragonflies to visit the garden.  Including the ubiquitous white butterflies, two small brown ones flitting around each other plus a Red Admiral and a Peacock butterfly. 

Peacock

Red Admiral

We were also visited by a Common or Red Darter dragonfly.

It seemed to enjoy lazing in the sun on top of the bean sticks.

Paul's photo (above) is far better than mine, he identified the dragon fly.

Earlier this year we saw the Bug Snugs at Trentham, I think I mentioned them in a post at the time.

We decided to build our own bug snug in the garden using the cuttings from the meadow area at the top of the garden now it has been cleared.

 It has been inspected by the foxes and badgers and also some of the local cats but it is still standing.  It will be a nice warm habitat for insects over winter.

 

The sweetpeas have been wonderful but unfortunately they are infested with greenfly.  The lupins have also been affected.  I've never known that happen before.  Does this mean that whatever predates the greenfly isn't around this year?  We've seen a few hoverflies around the garden but no ladybirds or lace wings.  I can't think when I last saw a ladybird.  That and the dearth of butterflies is quite worrying.

 

I've added a collage of some of the flowers in the garden at the moment.  Echinacea, Cosmos, Helenium, Poppy and Japanese Anemone.

 

All for now, see you in September, I hope.
 

In the Garden

 On the plum tree at the top of the garden the yellow plums are ripening and turning golden in colour.  There are so many fruits that the branch has bent over toward the ground.  Straining under the weight. They will be harvested soon.  They have a sweet and delicate taste, very different to the plums we used to pick from the old Victoria plum tree .

We are getting more produce now from the garden, French beans, potatoes, courgettes and onions.  From the greenhouse both red and yellow tomatoes.

There are still five fox cubs visiting the garden, often in twos or threes.  The parents have left them to cope in their new world. They look very healthy.  Curious bright eyes and soft bushy tails.

I took this photo about 9pm. last evening through the kitchen window.  The light was fast disappearing as he and his siblings made their nightly inspection of the garden.  Rolling on the grass and disappearing behind flowers and shrubs and following the paths around the raised beds.

Other visitors to the garden include the Herring Gull which our neighbours over the fence call Stephen, we call him Bobby.  Could be a female of course.  I guess he or she smells the barbeques in neighbouring gardens now the weather is warm and dry.

Since mid-May we've had a pair of birds regularly visiting the bird feeders.  It's taken ages to find out what they are, recently Paul heard bird song and checked it out with the RSPB website and they are Linnets. How unsual to have them here in such an urban area. They are red listed so quite rare.  I've put a link over 'RSPB' above.

The Chamomile I thought was lost has suddenly appeared all over in one of the raised beds.

Above - more flowers in the garden.  Dahlia, Echinacea, Water lily, Rose and Helenium.

Laburnum and Garden Visitors

The Laburnum Arch at the Dorothy Clive Gardens is looking splendid at the moment. 

We visited yesterday morning, thank goodness, as it's pouring down with rain today.

Tomorrow morning we have an engineer coming to sort out the central heating, half of the radiators had been heating up even though we'd turned the temperature down so they shouldn't have come on.  The only way to cool them down is to turn the water part of the system off to stop them heating.  Apparently it's a valve problem.  The engineer popped in to assess the situation on Monday so I'm hoping it can be sorted.

I'm struggling a bit health wise at the moment.  I'm still waiting for the results of a bone marrow biopsy I had on April 23rd.  Also the GP's surgery, concerned about my blood pressure, which I didn't think was unduly high, gave me extra tablets to take and they have given me a dreadful cough.  The nurse said that they would probably give me an irritating cough but this one is way beyond just irritating.  I've changed the tablets now but still have a cough which wears me out. 

Still, things could be worse.  It's a case of keep on keeping on.

Back home in the garden we've had both foxes and badgers visiting.

We saw a fox cub a couple of evenings ago. I took several photos of him but he was so quick running around and looking all over the place I only seemed to be able to capture him from behind.  He looked very healthy.

Mum sat and watched him to make sure he didn't get into any trouble.

Later in the evening, just as dusk was falling the badger appeared. He or she spent ages rooting around for worms.

All for now.  Take care.

Inside and Out

It seems a long time since my last post so I thought I'd take a few photos in the garden.  Firstly though a lovely bunch of daffodils have been cheering up the living room windowsill wth their frothy exhuberance.

I've dug out my Mark Hearld fold out card with hares to go with them, hoping they would look quite seasonal.

 

The garden is still very wet so very little has been done but it has been wonderful to see so many plants and flowers coming to life again.

 

The tulips we planted in October have all flowered.  We did lose a few bulbs to the badgers so we placed an old oven shelf over them to stop them getting dug up and eaten.  It seems to have worked.

I like the two colours together.

 

The other tulips we planted are now coming along too.  They look a bit like peonies.

 

Elsewhere in the garden under the laurel bush the Wood Anemones have appeared and flowered, thank goodness.

 

 I thought they had succumbed to the wet weather.

A lone frittilary at the top of the garden.  We put several in last year but this one is the only one to appear so far. 

Buds have appeared on the Wild Garlic or Ramsons.  It won't be long before those pretty white flowers appear.

 

Tiny Violets have appeared in random pots and in the edges of paths and there are signs of Forgetmenots waiting in the wings too.

 

Take care. 

Between the Raindrops

Gosh, what a lot of rain we've had.  It hasn't been possible to get out into the garden although yesterday was dry until late afternoon so I was able to nip outside and sweep up leaves that had gathered on the paths and steps and take a few photos.  Everywhere is so wet.

At the top of the garden the Wild Garlic is in leaf and spreading everywhere.  There are several clumps like this.

The rhubarb is doing well.  A few days ago we used the final bag of rhubarb we'd frozen from last year to make a crumble.  There's just one bag of frozen plums from last summer's crop left.  Perhaps that will make a pudding for lunch when friends visit next week.

I seem to remember a song from my childhood about a lonely little Petunia in an onion patch.  Perhaps it used to be played on Uncle Mac's children's favourites along with songs like Tubby the Tuba, Sparky's Magic Piano and The Runaway Train.   We were talking the other day about radio shows from the 1950s and remembering things like Toytown and Larry the Lamb on the wireless and Patience and Prudence Kitten on the television.  Anyway we don't have a lonely Petunia but do have a Crocus amongst the Snowdrops.

The Snowdrops have been in a large tub close to the house for a few years now, I remember buying a couple of plants at Leek Market just before lockdown in 2020 and they have spread and will need splitting this year but there was never a Crocus amongst them until now.  Where did it come from? I hope it isn't lonely.

Also coming along are the Tulips we planted in the Autumn.  I think there are a couple of layers of them so they will flower at different times.

 

Indoors we have little seedlings of tomatoes

 

  and sweet peas.  

 

 Not many of these have germinated so we may have to sow some more seed or buy a few plants later.  I do like to have sweet peas in the garden.

 

It's windy and raining here today.  I know lots of you here in the UK are experiencing very wet weather and local flooding. How is the weather where you are?  

In and around the garden

Although the plants need rain some of them also need sun, especially the tomatoes and plums.  We've had a few tomatoes from the greenhouse but they still need to ripen more.  The 'spares' which have been left outside are still green.

There are three varieties of tomatoes above - Santa Mama, Gardener's Delight and Roma.  There was also a small crop of French beans.

The plum tree has lots of plums this year and one or two look as if they are going to ripen, perhaps next week we will have a little more sun to help them.

Potatoes haven't done as well as hoped the crop below are a variety called Acoustic

Lots of flowers in the garden at the moment although they are being battered by the wind and rain.

There were a few sunnier late afternoons and evenings this week and bees and butterflies appeared later in the day.

One afternoon I was visited by a Comma butterfly.   It settled on my back.

It flew away after a short while but then it returned and settled on my shoulder.  Perhaps it  liked the colour of my blouse or perhaps I was standing in the sun and it wanted to be where it was warm.  Perhaps I was a handy stop along its flight path.

 

On a recent walk I spotted a dragonfly on the ground in front of me. Luckily I had my camera ready so I was able to take a photo before it flew further down the path and then skimmed back over the lake.

 

Is it a Black-tailed skimmer?  I know one or two of you are more knowlegable about wildlife than I am so please let me know if I am wrong. I got the ID from a Wildlife Trust site.

 

All for now.

Wildflowers, Posies and a Partridge

 Just a few photos of the wildflowers at Trentham where we walked one day last week as a break away from moving everything from the living room for the work to be done.  The most tiring was boxing up books, CDs and DVDs and dismantling the bookshelves.  Blinds had to be taken down as well as light fittings.

Back to Trentham. The flowers are all along the pathways by the lake.

and looking so beautiful.

 and very photogenic, my photos don't do them justice.

I wish I could identify them all.

Below scented posies from the garden

Roses and sweet peas on the kitchen table

Pinks and Dill on the fossil cabinet in the conservatory.

 

It's all go here this morning, the men are in, the living room ceiling is coming down.  They have sealed themselves in and will dispose of the artex containing asbestos today and clean up the dust.  The new boards will go in tomorrow and then skimmed, three times, on Wednesday.  They are singing along to their radio.  Shouting out answers to the pop quiz.

 

Meanwhile in the garden this morning another new and unusual visitor to the garden.

 

We've had a pair of Mallards, a Heron and a ring-necked Parakeet so far this year, now we've had a red legged Partridge.

 

He stayed for ages pecking around with both Wood Pigeons and Collard Doves.  

 

There will be lots of cleaning and decorating to do once the work is completed so I may disappear for a while.

All for now.