Sunday, July 28, 2013

Summer Time

   After I wrote the last post saying I had not seen any Butterflies then this Comma landed on the Buddleja. The Orange and black wings contrast nicely against the Black Knight Buddleja.
 This photo shows the Butterflies very long tongue drinking the nectar from the purple flowers. There have been Peacock Butterflies, and various white ones. The bees and hover flys love this plant. It is always a centre of insect activity. The stems have grown to around ten feet up, and the flowers are blowing around in the breeze. There is a heady scent of Butterfly Bush.
  The Buddleja acts as a cover between the conservatory and the bird feeders. The birds think we cannot see them. I photographed this Greenfinch eating the sunflower hearts.
 The sunlight brings out the khaki green and yellow of this very shy bird.I love the rarity of it visiting to feed.
 The past few days have seen the sunshine give way to clouds and rain. The garden and pots were hungry for rain water. The Sweet Peas have been revived with the water.
  The Lavender on the little patio coffee table has flowered at last. Small pale blue flowers. I love the scent of lavender in the warm sunshine. Once it fully flowers the Bees should visit its fragrant spires.
 The Night Phlox has grown beautifully now in the two pots on the patio area. The flowers are white but closed during the day with the red underneath. They smell lovely at night.
 The rain has revived the Pink Phlox which were looking very ropey. They have a slight clove smell to the bright pink flowers.
 The Climbing Fuchsia has grown beautifully and has the Purple/red pendulous flowers. I call it the Cromer Fuchsia, from where it came from. I need this to grow bigger to make it winter hardy.
The Hostas have put up the biggest flower spikes I have seen. They are nearly six feet high. The purple and white tubular flowers are inundated by Bees. They love the nectar of the green Hostas.
  I cant believe its nearly the end of July. Being away for most of June has made it feel like a shorter growing season. The Roses and Lilys are giving spectacular amounts of colour.The pond is newly filled by a night of torrential rain.
  I will do a blog post about them too. I love British Summertime..

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