My Little Garden 8th August 2020
It is very very hot as I write this and I think I need one of those outdoor offices …… or maybe a cool summer house ……. and maybe a bigger garden to put it in……
Over the last week I have had lots of butterfly visitors to the garden so it seem appropriate for the header photo to be of Gaura ‘Whirling Butterflies’. It’s a lovely perennial and wafts around in the breeze (when there is one) just like a ‘flutter’ of butterflies. I’ve learnt this week that apparently there are a few different collective names for a group of butterflies - swarm, rabble and kaleidoscope but I think flutter is my favourite.
I didn’t quite get enough butterfly photos for a complete butterfly themed Six on Saturday, so I’m going to bend the ‘rules’ a little and just make them the first of my six choices. If I’d managed to get shots of the Small Tortoiseshell, Holly Blue and Large White it would have been a different story.
1.This photo has already been posted on social media because I was so excited to see a Small Copper in the garden for the first time. A bit of colour clashing going on here, but it preferred this achillea to the peachy coloured version nearby.
There have been lots of Gatekeepers around again this year. They seem to like visiting a wide variety of plants and whilst this isn’t as good a photo, it’s a more harmonious pairing of yellow, brown and orange.
And my third butterfly offering is an inseparable pair of Small Whites on a fairly ordinary looking leaf.
2. In other news, the echinacea has just started to flower which I am very pleased about because it’s the first time I’ve managed to keep one over winter and also successfully defend from the evil slimy ones.
3. The thalictrum is a little more identifiable this week and I’m pretty sure it’s Hewitt’s Double. It’s over 2 metres tall which is a bit of a surprise - very inconvenient for photographs but it looks lovely.
4. The salvia is beginning to look a little tired so I’ll include it while I can. One of my metal herons is lurking behind it.
5. I’m pleased to report that Gertrude is reblooming beautifully.
6. And I’ll finish with Penstemon ‘Raven’. I really like the colour of this one and cuttings will be taken. Penstemon ‘Sour Grapes’ on the other hand is yet to give me a single flower despite the fact that the original plant and the cuttings I took last year all look very healthy. Hopefully it’s just a late developer.
And that’s my Six on Saturday for this week. Links to lots more ‘sixes’ can be found on the blog of The Propagator who is the creator of this weekly collection, and there are many more excellent photos and blogs on twitter under the hashtag #SixonSaturday
https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/
Have a great weekend!
