July 2015

31 July 2015

July weather.

July began warm, sunny and dry and ended wet, cool and overcast.

Bumble bee visiting dierama at the pond.

I started this blog as a way to sort out the photos piled up on our home computer. Now I find that the blog is a useful garden diary that helps me to remember what has been growing where, and what needs to be moved, removed or propagated, I am now taking even more photos! With this process I have developed a new respect and appreciation for gardeners and photographers!

Bed at the house door July 25th

There are now several established clumps of lambs ears, Stachys byzantina, smothered in bumblebees and even the odd honeybee. Lambs ears can look a bit raggedy and I haven't discovered how to handle their dominant silver foliage, yet, but I will be only expanding their presence as they are such a good bee plant. July 25th.

Agastache black adder .

Pink Dierama (Angel's fishing rod) at the small pond, with echium blue bedder in the foreground.

Most of the garden is in meadow, the edges of which are planted up with fruit trees, ornamental trees, shrubs, fruit bushes.... It is so hard to photograph, this rose is typical of the abundant joyful chaos of it!

or this photo of the beautiful bee-beloved and rampant rosebay willowherb.

Sweet pea is helping to mow the meadow.

Houttuynia cordata Flore Pleno (Orange Peel Plant), introduced several years ago and surviving complete neglect in the wilderness at the big pond.

Toadstools on willow near the big pond.

July bees and butterflies

July is a fantastic month in the garden! Bees, butterflies, hoverflies.... fill the air with Life.

Here are just a few snapshots.

Comma butterfly.

Underneath the wing the comma that gives the butterfly its name is just visible.

This poor red admiral is very worn out! resting on Echinops.

Honeybee on the Romneya.

Honeybee on borage.

Honeybee on Allium.

Knapweed is a principal player in the meadow.

Teasel with bumble bee.

Hoverflies on Helenium.

Bumble bee on Monarda.

Bumble bee on Telekia.

Solitary bee on perennial Rudbeckia brilliant star.

Spider residing in the Arum lily.

Bumblebee on Mallow in the meadow.

Common darter dragonfly.

July vegetable garden.

A month of rapid growth! Early potatoes are lifted, first peas are in, Brassicas are still small and struggling with slugs with last few wet weeks, but most or enough will come through. Onions looking good, leeks fattening up nicely....

Sweetcorn with potatoes in background July 12th.

The same beds of Sweetcorn with potatoes in foreground. July 30th.

More sweetcorn! Turnips and more potatoes in the background. July 12th.

Elephant garlic drying.

Tibet potatoes and sweet peas July 25th.

July polytunnel.

Polytunnels are pouring out peaches and figs, the first tomatoes are in, though not abundant yet, apricots never made it as far as the house this year, all eaten on sight! Summer raspberry canes finished and cut down. Aubergines are struggling but peppers are doing well. Peanuts are alive but not growing very much at all so I don't hold out much hope for them, sweet potatoes growing strongly.

Tomatoes ripening in the big tunnel with statice growing along side..

Peregrine peaches in the small tunnel.

Cucumbers and gherkins are fruiting in the small tunnel.

12 July 2015

Fantastic foraging on Rue/Common Rue (Ruta graveolens).

The garden is thrumming with life at the moment. This morning though, the Rue/Common Rue (Ruta graveolens) was an especially wonderful sight with honeybees, wasps, at least 4 kinds of hoverflies, bumble bees and small tortoiseshell butterflies all foraging on one plant simultaneously!