With all the hot weather there was a lot of watering to do both in the greenhouse and out on the vege beds, which is paying off as the mangetout has begun to flower again.
I have noticed that my brassicus that I lovingly got to this stage is slowly being decimated by white fly. I have never had an infestation like this so early in the year before, and I wonder if the plants simply became too stressed from lack of water or if the garden wasn't kept clean enough (my over wintered 'early purple sprouting broccoli' which normally gets white fly at the and of its life was left standing the ground at least a month later that normal for me) so I am wondering if I caused this infestation by being lapse with plot hygiene :(
I also spent the week generally preparing the garden for my absence from the Friday to Sunday. I was asked by my friend who is pregnant to accompany her and her husband as her second birth partner.
So here are a few pictures taken over the week.
Just as it was getting dark my mum spotted hedge here wandering through the side gate from the back into the front garden, he raced back through and I got this picture before leaving him alone to continue his forage for food.
The elusive greenwood pecker is a notoriously shy bird and though there is a resident pair in the area I have only ever gotten a shot of them through the upstairs window in my neighbours garden, which explains the blurry shot of this female.
Another through the window shot of one of the neighbourhood's foxes sunning itself in the garden two doors down.
One of the froglets relaxing on an oxygenating plant.
A fully open scabosia.
A calendula flower which I use in salads or to colour rice yellow. I also make an infused oil which I then use in some of the ointments I make.
Jasmine flowers in bud.
Fennel flowers in bud.
Not sure if these are regular honey bees or solitary bees but there are a lot visiting the garden and all the flowers.
Ladybug larva on a 'Love in the Mist Flower'.
A harlequin ladybug in one of its many guises.
Came across this odd looking bug while watering the sweetcorn and thankfully I chose to catch and id instead of kill on site as I originally thought it was a mealybug or a weird albino ladybug larva. Found out its called a Mealybug destroyer larva and so its a good guy eating not only mealybugs but also other aphids. I moved it onto one of the chili plants in the greenhouse and in doing so accidentally rubbed off some of its white fluff.
This is one of the bug homes I made last year for solitary wasps, etc. If you look closely you'll see a spider entering one of the holes.Now for the pictures I know you lot are really waiting for........
but first saw four parachuters (only caught two in the shot) from the labour room window during the early stages.
Her other half doing whatever she decrees ;) almost there.....
Welcome their new baby girl 00:32 28/06/09.
Awww, what a gorgeous baby, and what an honour to be asked to be a birth partner.
ReplyDeleteYou have some great wildlife around. The only birds I see in my garden are the usual sparrows, starlings and blackbirds.
Yes honoured is exactly how I felt it was quite lovely to see a new born really brand new, as outside of our own its not exactly a position we generally find ourselves in.
ReplyDeleteThis year the wildlife has certainly been more varied. We normally have a diverse population of birds but this year we've not done to badly with mammals and pond life either. The only downside is that they are so distracting ;)