At Last.......

I read somewhere recently that moths and butterflies are a measure of the health of the environment. 

Now I know it's been an odd kind of "summer" with very little sun and generally lacking in warmth but I was wondering if we would ever see any butterflies in the garden or on our walks.

In the past two years the numbers of butterflies have been quite low and later than usual. This year the buddleia is more than halfway through flowering and the butterflies have only appeared in any numbers in the past couple of days.

Much of the butterfly decline seems to be related to loss of habitat especially out in the countryside and what is known as habitat fragmentation. Habitats only surviving in small pockets so it is hard for the butterflies to travel any distance.

Perhaps the butterflies have all stayed south in England or on the Continent where it's warmer. That could be one explanation.... Whatever the reason please help by planting flowers for wildlife.

This is our butterfly sightings so far.

A white on Rosebay Willow Herb. I think it's probably a large Cabbage White but don't quote me!

 Peacock

 Fritillary

Burnett Moth

 Tortoiseshell

Meadow Brown

Meadow Brown

Small Heath

Common Blue

Red Admiral

"The caterpillar does all the work and the butterfly gets all the publicity" attributed to George Carlin

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

Here's a quick roundup of what's in bloom in our garden. In spite of being flattened by heavy rain there is still plenty of colour and interest in the garden.

Some plants have been flowering for some weeks and are still going strong such as Crocosmia "Lucifer" and the Rhodohypoxis.

One of our new plants is Penstemon "Sour Grapes".  it is one of the best known penstemons.

There are many that are similar and it is sometimes wrongly named. It has a delicate flower and pale colour ranging from blue to pink.

 

We still have our fair share of thistle type plants flowering late in the season In this photo eryngium yuccifolium has a wonderful architectural flower spike.

The cone flowers ecchinacea (both white and pink) have come into their own this past couple of weeks. Looking at other blogs we seem to have been waiting a long time...

We've also been waiting a long time for the appearance of these wee chaps. A bit of warmth and sunlight is all we need and of course, the buddleia and the verbena bonariensis in flower for the small tortoiseshells to appear.

The agapanthus last for some weeks in our garden. The plants in pots (after being brought on in the greenhouse) usually come out some time before the ones in the ground. We have a several different blues and a white.

The thalictrum is at its best at the moment. A froth of tiny, starry, lavender flowers which are worth a close-up look.

 

Also on show in the flower garden is a new clematis that we bought recently. It doesn't climb or twine but has a tendency to sprawl or scramble over other plants and supports. That may not sound a very attractive description but it has small purple flowers and beautiful seed heads. It has a lovely name Clematis "Petit Faucon" which means "small falcon"

One of my favourite flowers in the garden nearly got lost under the opium poppies browning foliage. I believe it needs sun and a bit of space to get to more then two feet in height and to form a clump.  Gaura is a small graceful plant with delicate, airy flowers in whites and pinks.

So that's the best of what's left in the flower garden. be sure to tune in to what is in bloom in other bloggers gardens at Carol's Blogger Bloom Day.

Easy as 1, 2, 3...

 A friend once told me that one of the most satisfying plants to propgate is a papyrus. And all you need to do was turn the stem upside down in some water. And after a while it grows roots.

I was incredulous and didn't really believe her until I tried it for myself. And even then it was only given real kudus when I happened to see Alan Titchmarsh performing the same "trick" of papyrus propagation on a Gardeners World Programme.

Papyrus is an attractive, ornamental rush that can be grown outside in a pot (standing in water) or boggy ground during the warm summer months. Each stem grows up to a metre tall and is topped with an umbrella of green foliage. They are, however not hardy and should either be brought inside (where they will flourish as a house plant) or used in a similar way to summer bedding.

A papyrus plant at the front of a warm, south facing corner of the garden with agapanthus, paulownia tomentosa  and solanum crispin.

So this is how you do it

• Cut a stalk 8 to 10 inches long.

• Turn the cutting upside down and place the leaves in water.

• The leaves may go a bit brown. Don't worry about that. Keep changing the water. After about 3 weeks roots will form.

•  Pot it up and keep well watered and soon you will have a new plant and you can take more cuttings.

So there it is. How to take papyrus cuttings. Easy as 1, 2, 3.

Bumble Bum on Wordless Wednesday

Pittenweem and Fruity Vinegars

Usually we don't meet up with fellow bloggers except on the net. But I have had the pleasure of meeting two bloggers recently who live in the south of Scotland

Shirley  (Shirl's Gardenwatch) came to our Open Garden, wearing the most fetching hat and wrote a very flattering post about our garden.
Then at the weekend we met Pen.

Saturday was the start of the  brilliant (and well respected) Arts Festival at Pittenweem in the Kingdom of Fife. It's a very well attended event and has a real community feel. The town (population approx 1500)  still has a working fishing port  and there is a vibrant art community.

Artists are attracted to Pittenweem by the stunning location and subject matter as well the highly successful annual Arts Festival. Houses and other buildings in the town open their rooms to show and sell art work. There are about 90 venues in all.

We managed to get round about a dozen, and being slightly perverse started at the end and worked back.
One venue that caught our eye was of photographer and garden designer Robert Melville. His own garden was one of the main subjects of his photographs. The garden was packed with annuals sown to attract as much wildlife as possible.

 

We were tempted by many pieces of art work and bought a bowl at Amy Pages Pottery. There were also musicians, a Viking encampment, cafes, bars and a Food Tent at the fishmarket.

The local produce included piles of crusty bread on one stand, local seafood on another. For all chocaholics the Cocoa Tree Cafe had a stand dedicated to chocolate in all its forms. The Fife Diet were also there. The Fife Diet is all about growing and eating locally. Have a look at their link to find out more about it.

But I was looking for herbs and there they were in abundance at the  "Little Herb Farm" stand put together by Pen.
Pen is a fellow blogger. If you haven't come across her click on the link and have a look at her blog. We had arranged to swap some herb plants. It's always interesting to meet a fellow blogger and have a chat. I was keen to know about her enterprise and especially that engaging logo. I've always had an interest in signs and packaging (ever since an abortive attempt to sell soups and other produce at the Farmers Market in Orkney)

 Pen's well stocked stand full of gourmet delights.


Goodies for sale  included bunches of cut flowers, pots of herbs, bottles of fruity vinegars and herby salts and sugars. Everything was beautifully labelled and presented and we were able "to try before you buy". Pen's lables and bags were all stamped with her attractive logo.

P dithered over what fruity vinegar to buy. I think he must have tasted all of them.We bought two bottles (Raspberry and Rosemary and Blueberry and Basil). They have a delicious flavour and are quite addictive.We tried it drizzled over grilled camembert and salad. Mhhmmm...

If you would like to buy some of Pen's products she's at a Farmer's Market in Fife soon.
And if you can't get there, pop over to her blog  So Many Herbs, So Little Thyme or her Face Book page and see what you're missing. Maybe she'll do Mail Order soon.....

Floppies

I'm not talking floppy discs here (does anyone still use them or even remember what they are?) but floppy plants.
How do you define "floppy"? The dictionary tells us it's "soft and not able to keep a firm shape or position/ soft and flexible "
Some plants are supposed to be less straight-laced than others but when they start to sprawl action has to be taken.

Most things in the garden had spread somewhat by this time in the season but visitors were still able to get along the path without tripping over lots of greenery or being hit in the eye by a stray branch.That's an achievement....

Then two days ago it rained heavily. Yesterday was the same. This photo was taken yesterday morning. Things didn't look too bad even then, although everything was slightly wet and droopy.

Then by today (the sun actually came out hooray), I found some of the plants looking a bit the worse for wear, such as these pots of pelargoniums and surfinia petunias

Something you should know about our garden is it's densely packed with plants and they sort of hold each other up... so when one gets flattened there tends to be a domino effect......

If not caught quickly enough vertical plants end up in a horizontal position and then flower stems start to grow again in a different direction. So when I go to rescue them and try to stand the plant up by whatever means at my disposal the flower spike has begun to  grow at 45 degrees and looks distinctly odd. Here's a good example: Crocosmia rosea . It is a plant that nearly always flops even before a shower but I never remember to prop it up until it's too late. 

Not all is untouched by man (or woman) some strategic supports are put in place early in the season. These usually consist of a length of mild steel bent into a loop with two legs. It can then be pushed into the border as things grow and lessens damage to all manner of plants. It also stops them from straggling all over the path.

This is the ideal scenario but as ever I don't always have enough supports or am only reminded when I see a plant in a prostrate position.
The support in the next photo was hastily pushed in to keep the C. Lucifer upright but usually they are not as noticeable. The Peony "Jan van Leeuw" would have been in an ungainly heap by now if it hadn't had the metal rod holding it up.

One other major piece of support is for climbers and is placed along the wall of the garden. These are ingenious (thought of by P) as they are made of mesh usually used by builders to reinforce floors.
They are not too expensive, last for ages and have a rusty patina which blends in with the red stone of the wall. This mesh is supporting the rambling rose "Sailor"

The other place that I have used supports is with the bamboo. These metal rods tend not to be big or strong enough for this job so they are combined with bamboo stakes (from our own bamboo patch. I love to reuse!) which holds everything up most of the time.

 Another consequence of rain is the growth spurt put on by some plants. This bamboo spike is about nine feet tall and as thick as my thumb. I don't remember seeing it a couple of days ago...

Alan's (It's not work it's gardening)  root pruning advice may be needed sooner rather than later.

Lastly we have the grasses. Stipa gigantea in particular is bowed under the weight of the rain. Even if I give it a shoogle to get rid of some of the water it still stays stubbornly bowed. Supports or tying up with string always look horrendous with clump forming grasses. So I'm inclined to leave it until the arching plumes are past their best (walked on, broken and totally flattened) and then cut them back.

I do remember visiting a garden once on a windy site. The stipa was tied up in a bunch with string. The owner informed me that she always did that because it got bashed by the wind. Perhaps she should have moved it....

Gossamer seeds

Floating parasols

Dawdle on a late summer breeze

Dandelion seeds.

 

 PS I know it's not a dandelion but I couldn't find a haiku about a goatsbeard (tragopogon pratensis)

For more haiku by the same author go to the following link

Plant of the moment....

This stunning plant is the biennial Angelica "Ebony", the sophisticated dark leaf form of the native angelica.

We have four dotted around the garden and we came by it through a happy accident.

I had ordered some plants from Abriachan Nursery through their mail order service. I had wanted Angelica Gigas  but they didn't have any at the time and Alistair offered me" Ebony" instead. It was an ideal opportunity to try out a new plant that I may not otherwise have chosen. Because it is a  smaller plant only growing to about 90cm instead of the metre and a half of Gigas, I had to change the position from a place at the back of the border to the middle.

 

The first year it produced beautiful deep purple ferny foliage. The second year the leaves were crowned  with deep purple buds that open to sprays of pink flowers. It is an  unusual combination of colours and makes a  striking plant addition to the borders. It contrasts wonderfully with foliage plants such as melianthus or miscanthus.

The purple also looks good with the pinks and purples of the opium poppies, the buddleia and the verbena bonariensis. I'm not quite so sure about the crocosmia "Lucifer" which is striking in it's own right and tends to detract from other plants.

 Of the four plants we have two of them are in sun and two are in more shaded positions. The shaded ones have seem slower to flower but seem to hold their colour better. In spite of the fact that angelica prefers a rich loam they are doing fine in our rather more sandy soil (with the addition of home made compost). I was advised not to move the plant as it is deep rooted and resents disturbance. I've never been successful growing any kind of angelica from seed so I may try again with Ebony or let it self seed.

I also have a photos of wild angelica which is so similar apart from the colour and the setting.