On the wing

The big explosion of butterflies predicted in the last post hasn't happened.  There are plenty of whites and a few peacocks; and today there was a tortoiseshell.  But no red admirals.  I hope we get some more butterflies.  On the other hand, there are plenty of wasps - most of them eating the plums (of which there are lots, fortunately).

I came home today to find flying ants on the patio.  The sparrows and the robin were delighted.  The birds have become less insistent on being fed in the mornings, and just today I was wondering whether it was time to ease back on the food; when I put out this morning's offerings there were no takers at all, although the food does all disappear over the course of the day.  But the ants were obviously a real treat, although a brief one; a couple of hours later they were gone.

A less welcome winged visitor appeared briefly in the small apple tree one day this week - a big female sparrowhawk.  Fortunately none of the other birds were around (they probably saw her coming).  She might have been responsible for the dead vole found round the back of the garage a few days ago; there again, it could very probably have been next door's cat.  There's probably a vole residence somewhere around there, as something small and furry scooted into the undergrowth when I was poking around there at the weekend.

Rose 'Golden Showers' - in its good phase

On the plant front, the Crocosmia is tailing off, the white-flowered plant whose name I can never remember (it's somewhere in a previous post) is just starting, and the autumn flowers (Sedum, Echinacea) are not quite there yet.  All I've been able to come up with for vases are a few sweet peas ('Royal Wedding', a two-tone violet blue, is doing nicely), some calendulas and rowan berries; and I couldn't resist cutting a couple of stems of the 'Moonlight' runner bean, which has pretty ivory and cream flowers.  I'm not surprised beans used to be grown as ornamentals.  There are also still some intermittent roses on the repeat-flowering plants, especially 'Golden Showers'.  It has done its usual thing this year: the first flush of flowers, and all the leaves, succumbing to black spot and looking dreadful, but then the plant recovers and produces a second flush with lovely clean foliage and more flowers.

   On the subject of foliage, building work has necessitated a lot of my pots being moved.  Some are grouped on the patio, and are making quite a statement just from their foliage: bronze sedge, variegated hosta, grey-leaved Anthemis and the purple Heuchera.  It sounds a horrible mix, and it's not a combination I would willingly go for, but it does show how much of an impact foliage can make.