Just one opened first, a beautiful dark purple poppy to give the Bees something extra.
The next day, loads bloomed and by the next day or two mostly gone. But they’re staggered and keep coming so hopefully a bit of brightness for longer.
(c) K Wicks
With letting everything just grow, you get to see what things do given the chance. Strawberries will grow and spread and are very efficient at this. And because they are so pretty, attract lots of bugs and have fruit at the end of it, why wouldn’t you let them. I may regret saying that when they fully take over, but I will scale some plants back a bit now to make light and room for others.
This box has all sorts going on in it, winter jasmine, parsley, rosemary and lots of trailing wild strawberries. I added a few poppies where they were getting crowded in my planters, and it rusn out the potatoes I grew in this box last year hadn’t all been dug up. So I have potatoes in both boxes now.
It seems I did have a pink strawberry flower plant left going amongst the others. These flowers only lasted a couple of days before they were munched!
The berries have begun to ripen 🙂
(c) K Wicks
I decided to let everything just grow this year and be very minimal with weeding. Nature needs all the help it can get. It’s also making me more interested in what everything is and I’m learning about each plant as it grows and flowers. Willowherb seems to cater for many insects and has super pretty little pink/purple flowers. Also the leafcutter bees have favoured this plant for cutting small holes in the leaves – making me think that’s the reason I haven’t seen a leafcutter bee before, because I kept getting rid of their favourite plant!
(c) K Wicks
I’m still trying to make time for a bit of painting, and hope I have the inclination when I do. I want to paint nature, I’m just not very good. So thought if I set myself some goals and tasks, I could improve. Without copying an idea, I just tried to paint something. Perspective is one of my issues so I am working on that. Not great, but getting a bit better.
I am still not used to the consistency of the paint, how to work it, which brush to use and many other things. And by only putting a bit of time aside on weekends, it is slow progress. I am hoping to be able to do some more this weekend.
(c) K Wicks
Another first and a very exciting one. I had just found my pink strawberry plant was flowering, hidden among other strawberries and the loganberries. With a fuchsia plant and wildflowers too. As I was trying to get enough sunlight in for a shot, a bee came and landed on the willowherb, cut a section of leaf and left again. I was really surprised. I waited and it came back, took another section and left again, disappearing into the budleia and loganberry bush.
It took a few seconds and once it left again I could see that bee had been a bee had visited a number of times. I haven’t ever noticed holes like that before and realise I have previously pulled these up as weeds before they got to be this pretty and useful! Letting everything grow this year has made a big difference.
(c) K Wicks
One white rose in the garden.
(c) K Wicks
There are a lot of yellows around – this is in the last 10 days.
(c) K Wicks
It was rather orange and as if on fire.
(c) K Wicks
The bee hotel has given me a great opportunity to watch the Bees doing their thing. Resting, gathering and nesting, its very cool. I’ll do more posts of them but this pic from last week is one of my favs.
(c) K Wicks
Well, this was a top notch day for nature. Other than the activity at the bee Hotel, there was much occurring elsewhere in the patches and undergrowth.
Started with another bee because they are awesome and all over the bigroot geranium at the moment.
We had a fly stop for an extended shoot, perfectly landing in the sun and waiting for me to get my shot. He landed on the shed too so will get his own post soon.
This was small, not the tiniest I saw making a web, but has some growing to do before it gets to average size.
I know they aren’t bugs, but still daily visitors to the garden. Enjoying the little bench we put up for them.
These little guys were still around and after I put a geranium flower near one, it crawled right on! Have to say, very happy with this photo.
I haven’t actually seen one of these before so was a new find.
I rescued this little weevil from the bird bath, he was floating and trying to hold onto a small bit of something.
I don’t actually know what this one is, it seems to be a type of small parasitic wasp, but was tiny and didn’t stay still so my shots aren’t really good enough for a conclusive ID.
This beautiful red ladybird was just wandering through one of the beds. Hopefully there will be more.
There were a couple of things I couldn’t identify or get a good enough picture of. Baby spiders being very difficult, but this tiny orb weaver is already on it building a web. I’ll keep you updated on garden progress.
(c) K Wicks
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