FIRST TIMERS AND A THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Anyone would would think that one of my ferns had turned rusty with all the rain we've had this summer......

In fact these are the spores which turn brown as they ripen and drop off like dust.

I've never tried to grow a fern from spores...hygiene is really important...at least so I've read...yet Mother Nature manages to do it with no sterilising equipment.

I was really surprised to see that my Spider Lily (Hymenocallis occidentalis) has flowered again. It had already bloomed this year indoors during the Spring and I'd stood it outside to die down and build up strength for next year!I'm really excited to see that two of the Ginger Lilies are starting to form buds....... there are some very important memories attached to these longed for plants (see this post), I know how thrilled Mick would have been to see these buds and I know I'll shed a few tears when I see them in flower.

Another "first time in flower" is our Black Grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus); I think last year's sun must be the reason for this as we certainly haven't had much sun this Summer.

This Pickerel Weed (Pontederia cordata) in the pond has never flowered before either.......it's certainly been a year for "first timers"!
In my "catch up" post on Monday I said that the yellow crocosmia (monbretia) still hadn't flowered..well lo and behold........

if my memory serves me well this particular one was Crocosmia 'George Davidson'.

Our garden is primarily made up of hardy perennials but I do have a fair few "tenders" which as I use as annuals and never bother to take cuttings of. Nowadays petunias, verbenas etc are so cheap to buy as small plants (unless you want a specialised variety) that it's not worth the cost of heating to keep them going through the winter; plus of course where would I find the room! Earlier this year I bought a few single and double petunias they were tiny plants but I grew them on and the following two have really caught my eye.....I tried so hard to get a decent photo of this butterfly; I think it's a female Holly Blue...she certainly had me cavorting round the garden and finally settled on some Lamium .....I couldn't get close enough for a good photo before she flew away over the wall............chasing butterflies is good exercise!!!!!Now I know that some of you have allotments and large vegetable patches so you'll probably not think much of this first small harvest from my Hestia Runner Beans...but they were enough for a single portion and tasted really good.......lots more on there way as well!!! Now I haven't forgotten it's Thursday.............

AREN'T THE "GOOD THINGS THAT COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT" JUST THE LEFTOVERS FROM THE PEOPLE THAT GOT THERE FIRST???

GARDEN CATCH UP

Yet again serious flooding has threatened not only properties but lives as well. Parts of Gloucestshire and Oxfordshire are seriously affected at the moment. Many people have no drinking water some are being told to boil their water. Much of Southern England is under a severe weather warning ........I have been lucky (so far) in my small part of East Anglia and the weather has just been something to have a good moan about......my heart goes out to all those whose lives have been devastated.

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Another week's passed since my last "catch up" post and still no sign of a bud on the Cannas and Brugmansias....the mixed up seasons this year are doing strange things to the garden. These Cyclamen don't usually flower until the Autumn...........and there's already autumnal colour starting on some of the Sorbus leaves...............
at least the Hibiscus is flowering bang on schedule....it always starts when the children break up for the summer holidays. When I think of how much I chop it back each year to keep it to a manageable size it's a wonder it doesn't sulk. At least my Japanese Painted ferns haven't minded the low light levels this year...the are right against our Northfacing wall and are twice the size they were last year......
I love the colouring on the leaves.....................
I'm really pleased I took cuttings of the double busy lizzys last year; I cursed trying to overwinter them in the back bedroom but it was all worth it. This is one of my favourite....

The Coleus cuttings have bulked out too...when I think how weedy they looked after the winter....I use them to fill in gaps when early flowers have gone over......this one plant has filled this space in a trough in no time..............

Another cutting doing really well is this Pelargonium...........I had problems with white fly on it during the winter but it seems fine now. I'd love to take more cuttings each year but space is limited......the garden itself is 24 feet by 20 feet (7 and a bit metres X 6 and a bit metres) and as practically every part of it is planted up (except for the path way and and one small bench area) there's just no room for a proper greenhouse.

The basket I planted up of "left overs" to cover the bare area where nothing would grow......is filling out really well.................
and I think I'd better start picking these runner beans.....the dwarf ones are new to me so looking forward to seeing what they taste like......
This lily has started bloming now...it's the same markings as the Turks Cap but faces upwards....being one of the Asiatics it doesn't have a scent........
I'm pleased this Hydrangea is doing well; it's a cutting taken a couple of years ago...purely by accident...I was making up a floral arrangement with some Hydrangea flowers in Oasis and the stems rooted!Libby sent me some Rincinus seed which unfortunately I never managed to get them to germinate. I was lucky a few months ago to find 4 seedlings for sale at a local nursery....they are growing quite well now and I think this may be a flower bud starting.......I've already posted photos of the red Lucifer crocosmia (monbretia) flowering but now the orange one has started to bloom....just the yellow to wait for now....I think the Whisky Mac Rose by the front door is trying to block the doorway....maybe it's aiming to stop the postman dropping off the bills.......LOLBet you thought "Oh no insects today!"....well I'll just slip in one butterfly photo before I go.........

Dependant on what today's weather brings we are hoping to have a "Family Walkabout". Looking pretty dismal at the moment but the day is still young...off to do my "sun dance" now.

Sorry I'm not getting to all of your blogs at the moment; I'll catch up as soon as I can.

FEEDING FRENZIES AND HAPPY ACCIDENTS

Now that my Buddleia is in flower I'm getting so many butterflies in the garden. It's quite hard to get photos as they flit about so much but patience pays off sometimes. This is the first year I've seen these in the garden so quite exciting for me.

I think it's a Gatekeeper as it has 2 small dots in the black circle.................

whereas this one I think is a Meadow Brown as it only has 1 spot.........We always get plenty of these.................Green veined???? White.........

But I'm not quite sure what this one is?

Meeyauw gave me a link to a great site BudGuide.net but it deals with US and Canadian insects and I can't find this one there or on any of the British sites I visit. It's wings are almost translucent even when closed. I remember my pre-camera days when a butterfly was just a butterfly....it can be quite hard for a novice to tell the difference................

Red Admiral

This moth decided to have a doze at the base of my butterfly solar light; no doubt waiting for lighting up time!
Despite so many bugs in the garden they hardly ever "bug" me......I guess I'm not as tasty as the flowers!!!!!

I think this is a Coreus Marginatus...boy that's a mouthful ....its common name is Squash Bug which derives from it being a pest on squash crops in North America.



It's been a long wait this year but FINALLY my Eucomis (Pineapple flower) is coming into bud. Libby at Woodlands World has had hers in flower for a while; I'm hoping at some point my Brugmansia will show some signs of budding as Libby's flowers on hers are beautiful......I can almost smell their fragrance through my PC screen.

As our garden is quite shady and small and I'm such a plantaholic I'm inclined to place plants according to the amount of sun they need rather than concentrating on colour combinations. Sometimes though an area"comes together" colourwise just by accident. This small area is "accidentally" working so well with the colour of the Canna leaves, Lucifer crocosmia flowers and Bishop of Llandaff Dahlia.

Even the underplanting of Heuchara and Oxalis are picking up the dark bronze-like colours
and the Japanese Blood Grass plays its part too.

Once again it's a warm, sunny day here in my part of the world. So what am I doing blogging you may ask.......ahhhh well I'm blogging in the garden! And I don't get so stressed when my tempremental pc shuts down...I just go and do some deadheading or weeding until it decides to play again......

I guess that makes me a Garden Blogger in more ways than one!!!