Tags
Astrantia, Bittersweet, black bryony, Black Spleenwort, blue-tailed damselfly, butterflies, comma, common blue damselfly, Damselfly, Dragonfly, Essex skipper, Field Bindweed, flowers, fruit tree, garden, gatekeeper, Gladiolus, greengage, hedge bindweed, Hyssop, insects, Jacob's Ladder, Lilium longiflorum, peacock butterfly, perennial sow-thistle, Pheasant Berry, plants, rowan, ruddy darter, runner beans, spleenwort, Stargazer Lily, Suffolk, sunset, Swiss Chard, trees, vegetables, wheat, wild flowers, Woody Nightshade
This post is made up of photos of flowers, insects and other things of interest that I saw in my garden during the last couple of weeks of July and the first fortnight in August. We spent that time catching up with jobs around the house and doing a lot of gardening as the weather was quite good.
It has not been a good year for insects here; an extremely bad one for butterflies in fact, possibly due to the cool, wet spring and early summer we had. The flowers and plants had a slow start but once the warm weather arrived in mid July they soon caught up.
We still had plenty of these small dragonflies in our garden until recently but in July they had just started flying. They don’t just fly near water but find perches all over the garden from which they ‘dart’ to catch passing prey. In this photo the dragonfly is on the top of a cane in my flower-border and was happy to let me get very close to him. Ruddy Darters are the only red dragonflies with totally black legs – they also have a small patch of yellow at the base of the wings. There are black lines on the upper side of the second- and third-to last segments of the abdomen. The upper half of the eyes are red-brown and the lower half are green. The frons (the front of the ‘face’) is red.
I bought this herb late last summer; it survived the winter very well and has flowered beautifully this year. It is very popular with the bees and smells good too.
I grew Swiss Chard from seed this year for the first time, mainly because my mother likes it and hasn’t been able to get it for a few of years. I gave her a few plants and then put some plants into a couple of gaps in my flower-border. They look beautiful, especially with the sun shining through the colourful stems. I can’t say the vegetable when eaten has been very popular. The leaves are like spinach, quickly reducing in size and becoming soft; the stems which I put into the hot water a minute or so before the leaves, have a lovely texture and a very mild taste. They can be steamed successfully too. I think it is the mildness that doesn’t appeal – or perhaps the spinach-like leaves. We love greens in this family and get through large amounts of cabbage, spring-greens, brussels sprouts and broccoli, all of which have fairly powerful flavours. Perhaps Swiss Chard is too refined for us?
I include this just to prove to myself that we did get a number of skippers in the garden in the summer. The Essex Skipper is very similar to the Small Skipper but the antennal tip instead of being golden is black underneath, which can just be seen in my photo.
We bought a young Greengage tree nearly three years ago and this year we got two fruits on it. We didn’t manage to eat either of them because one or other of our animal, bird or insect visitors got there first.
The name ‘Comma’ refers to a white comma mark on the underside of the wings.
This has got everywhere in the garden this year! I have found it growing in amongst the herbs, up through the Pyracantha and it has taken over the two Cotoneasters that grow next to our gas-tank. (We are not on mains gas here so have a large butane gas tank near the house). Bittersweet berries are beautiful and are at their most attractive at this stage when some are still green and they are plump and shiny.
Another photo that is proof to me that we had these damselflies flying round the pond this summer.
Male Gatekeepers are territorial and patrol an area of hedgerow often in corners of fields or near gates trying to deter other insects from entering their domains. The males are smaller and a brighter orange than the females and have a dark patch of scent glands on the fore-wing.
I couldn’t resist taking a photo of the wheat in the field behind our house just before it was harvested this year.
This slightly battered Peacock was sunning itself on the path. They are very hairy-bodied insects and the colours and markings on the wings are beautiful. I noticed for the first time the lovely tiger-stripe yellow and black ‘shoulders’ on the fore-wing.
The flowers this year are only lightly marked with pink. They are usually much brighter.
I have a pale-leaved Pheasant Berry bush and it has done very well this year, having had enough rain-water at the beginning of the season. The birds usually enjoy the berries but I’m not sure if the wasps will have left them any!
The white Longiflorum lilies did a little better this year. I still had some trouble with non-native Red Lily Beetles but the cool wet June meant the flowers were taller and stronger and the beetles didn’t appear until later in the season when the weather improved. I was as vigilant as I could be, going out checking for beetles at least twice a day and squashing them when I found them. Unfortunately, nothing could be done while I was away from home so when I returned I soon discovered the horrible grubs eating the plants. I removed as many as I could and discovered that spraying them regularly with soap was very effective.
I grew runner beans this year and gave my mother six plants and planted the rest in a gap in my flower border. They grew up through a laburnum tree and did quite well. I started them fairly late so they didn’t begin flowering til after mid-summer but the beans develop very quickly and these ones are so sweet and hardly have any ‘strings’. I love the orange flowers.
I wanted to see if there was enough ambient light to take a successful photo of these luminous lilies.
This plant is mainly found in the west of the country so I was surprised to see it here, almost as far east as one can get. It loves alkaline soil and here it is growing in the mortar. A month later and it had gone – removed I presume, in case it caused yet more damage to our poor crumbling church building.
A sunset seen from the back of the house.
My music selection today is ‘The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba’ by Handel.
Thanks for visiting!
markspitzerdesigns said:
Wonderful to see all that plant and insect variety that comes with country living. Here in the city we have to work hard to get half that – though sometimes a drive in the country makes up for it !
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Mark! We are extremely lucky to be here but sometimes we can have too much of a good thing. For instance, moles have just dug their way through one of my flower borders!
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margaret21 said:
This is a nice touch of green. Urban Korea is wonderful …. but not green
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Margaret. I think I would miss seeing green quite quickly.
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Jane said:
Oh Clare, it is lovely to visit your blog again after such a long time away and see such a delightful collection of plants and insects. As I write this I am listening to the beautiful musical piece that you shared. It matches your collection of pictures perfectly. My favourite pictures are the gorgeous peacock butterfly, the ripe wheat and the ruddy darter. Wonderful! It brought a smile to my face. Thank you. 🙂
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Gallivanta said:
The music is perfect, isn’t it!
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Jane said:
Yes! 🙂
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clarepooley33 said:
🙂
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Ann!
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clarepooley33 said:
I am so pleased – thank-you Jane! I haven’t been posting much myself during the past year though I’ve kept up sporadically with the blogs I follow. I’d love to be able to post regularly again – I find it mildly therapeutic.
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Gallivanta said:
Your garden is nourishment for the soul and physical nourishment for the critters. But who knows it may be good for the souls of the critters too. 🙂
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clarepooley33 said:
Well that’s an interesting thought! Thank-you Ann!
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susanpoozan said:
An interesting and varied set of photographs, thank you.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Susan!
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KerryCan said:
Such great pictures–I loved the tour! The darter and damselflies are especially cool looking, I think. And I love that spleenwort that grows on stone walls. (I tried to bring some home from Cornwall one year, wrapped in damp paper towels . . . )
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you very much Kerry! Did the spleenwort not survive?
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KerryCan said:
No, it didn’t make it. I think our climate is too different from Cornwall . . . 😦
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clarepooley33 said:
Sad! 😦
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Ste J said:
Nature is beautiful but is so deceptively powerful like the Black Spleenwort on your church. I am glad we are still having the weather for such wonderful photos. Coming here is always a tonic to the urban dullness so many of us inhabit.
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clarepooley33 said:
You are very kind Ste – thank-you! It’s been a little wet and gloomy for the past couple of days but I’m sure there’ll be more good weather to come before too long.
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Ste J said:
We can but hope, before the cold days close in…but when they do it’s ghost story time, yay!
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clarepooley33 said:
Yay!
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Jill Weatherholt said:
Oh Clare, your photographs are so beautiful. As I scrolled through I kept thinking, this is my favorite, then I’d come upon the next and love it. In the end, I loved them all…and that sunset…it’s stunning! Great music selection too! Thanks so much for brightening my day. xo
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clarepooley33 said:
Jill – you are invariably kind; thank-you!
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People Rebuilders Foundation said:
You took some great pic
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you very much!
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People Rebuilders Foundation said:
your welcom
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navasolanature said:
Lovely shots and thanks for helping with an ID ! I think my recent butterfly pics are female gatekeepers in Southern Spain. We don’t seem to get those glorious peacocks though. Great post showing the state of nature in your Suffolk garden! Pretty diverse.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you very much! I’m glad I was able to help.
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
Those are excellent shots of the ruddy darter and peacock butterfly. I’ve never met either one in person.
I’ve never had Swiss chard so I can’t say much about its flavor, but I once worked for a gentleman who had a garden full of it. He must have really loved it to grow so much. I always admired the red in it.
I also once worked for a lady who was originally from England and she had me grow scarlet runner beans in her garden. It was the first I’d heard of them. I think she would have been pleased with yours.
I can almost smell that stargazer lily! I had a yard full of them before the lily beetles came. Yours is a beautiful plant. I’ve never seen one with that many blossoms on it.
I have spleenwort envy again. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in nature, but they seem to be fairly common there. I’ll find one eventually!
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clarepooley33 said:
I hope you do find a spleenwort! The ones I have found so far have been on Limestone or, as with the one on the church, on mortar! I was pleased I took the photo of the one at the church or I would never have known what it was. Black Spleenwort is very rare in this part of the country (and it’s even rarer now that the one I saw has been destroyed!)
I have had those Stargazers for at least 14 years and they are very tough too. They are out in all weathers (in a tub) and have moved house with me twice.
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
That’s why I never see spleenwort. We have very little limestone or lime in our soil here. I keep hoping though!
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clarepooley33 said:
I have read that one of the spleenworts found in the US is quite happy growing on any soil. (I can’t remember which one at the moment ( a senior moment no less!)) I wish you luck on your quest! 🙂
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
I’ll have to look it up!
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clarepooley33 said:
Ebony spleenwort! I remembered!
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
That’s a native here!
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clarepooley33 said:
Yes!
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avian101 said:
Very nice gallery Clare! What a variety of butterflies and flowers! 🙂
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you very much HJ!
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quietsolopursuits said:
I loved all the beautiful flowers and insects, but my favorite is the Peacock butterfly! Gardens are a lot of work, but so very well worth it when you have the time to relax enjoy it. It must be wonderful to sit back and relax in yours.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you very much Jerry. I must admit that I don’t often sit and relax in the garden. I try, but as soon as I sit down I notice something that needs doing!
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quietsolopursuits said:
Isn’t that the way that it always goes?
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womanseyeview said:
A lovely overview of summer in your garden – especially loved the dragon/damselfly photos!
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you very much!
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bitaboutbritain said:
Beautiful, Clare. You really do take the most gorgeous photos. Nice to see a pheasant berry in there – I had one in a garden in another life – they were very popular in Victorian gardens, I gather. Anyway – a lovely tour!
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you very much! We had a pheasant berry in our garden in Somerset and when we moved back here I made sure I got one.
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Charlotte Hoather said:
I love Handel, got a Handel audition next week. Lovely photos the wheat photo looks great.
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clarepooley33 said:
I think Handel is one of my very favourite composers; I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything of his I didn’t like. Good luck in your audition! Hope your first week is going well 🙂
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Christy B said:
Beautiful photos and descriptions, Clare! I hadn’t known why the “comma butterfly” had its particular name… Now I know 🙂
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Christie! I don’t think I’ve ever seen the underside of a Comma’s wings as they don’t often fold their wings up. I’ve never seen the ‘comma’!
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Lisa G. said:
Who doesn’t like that Handel piece? So nice and bright. 🙂 Growing hyssop is a good idea – anything to encourage the bees, and it looks like lavender, which is a pretty look.
The peacock butterfly surprised me – if I’d seen it, I’d have assumed it to be a moth, because I thought the “hairy” ones are moths. (I know precious little)
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Lisa! I always thought the hairy ones were moths too, and most of them are; however….. 😮
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Cynthia Reyes said:
You have gifted us with such a feast from nature and your camera, Clare. I always enjoy your posts because I feel as if I’m right there with you. Thank you.
The red veined Swiss chard is lovely, isn’t it? But I’m sorry about the removal of your greengage fruit – would have been nice to taste your own fruit before the critters got it. I like dragonflies and damsel flies, but I am sorry there have been few butterflies there. We have had plenty, but I only saw one Monarch butterfly — it followed me around the garden one day – maybe I look like a milkweed plant and just don’t know it! Best to you and your loved ones, Clare.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you so much Cynthia. I really appreciate your kind comments and the time you take.
I am hoping there will be more fruit next year which will give us all (including the critters!) a taste. We have hardly had any apples and the pears are small and many are rotting on the tree. Not a good year.
How lovely to be followed by a Monarch!
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Liz said:
How gorgeous – like our own private edition of Gardener’s World!! I love how the combination of all your pictures demonstrates beautifully the interplay between nature and the vagaries of life. x
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you! I’m not too sure how Gardener’s World would regard my garden 😉 We try to instill some order but nature seems to have the upper hand most of the time.
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Liz said:
Sounds like perfection to me! 😀
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clarepooley33 said:
😀
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Kate R said:
Hello Clare! Please excuse my absence but it is lovely to catch up on your posts. I really enjoyed this visit to your garden and the lovely overview you provided. Such a shame you didn’t get to sample your greengages. I can’t remember if I have ever tried one but greengage jam seems to ring a bell so maybe I have! Hopefully next year you get some more and the greengage thief leaves you a few! My favorite photo was of the ripe wheat – a really lovely photo. Loved the peacock butterfly too!
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Kate. We hope to have more greengages next year. They are sweet green plums and are good when made into jam. I hope your building work is finished by now.
Clare x
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Kate R said:
Still ongoing Clare :-(( So many delays but they promise just 3 more weeks…we shall see! xx
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clarepooley33 said:
We have had problems like that this year too. Nothing straightforward and so many delays. xx
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