Summer in the garden, everything flowering all at the same time...

 

A quick update on some of the flowers in the garden this summer. A few might seem to be weeds to some, but I find them to be useful as pollinator foods and very pretty as well. (A lawn with white clover smells gorgeous and is good for common blue butterflies and bees.) I admit, due to the very wet spring, the bindweed is ferocious this year but autumn pulling and digging will get it back under control for next year and for now, the white flowers are appealing. The very wet Spring seems to have triggered a profusion of flowers with everything flowering all at the same time... these are some that caught my eye today.

Self-Heal (butterflies and bees)

Snapdragon (bumblebees)

Crocosmia (pollinating insects)

Valerian (all insects plus moths like the hummingbird hawkmoth)

Bindweed (pollinating insects)

Buddleia (pollinating insects, in particular moths and butterflies)

white clover (bumble bees, common blue butterfly)

lawn flowers!

roses (good for this human!)

fox and cubs (bees)

Love in a mist seed heads (for next years' garden!)

Buddleia 

Chicory (bees)

Sweet William (bees)

Cornflower (pollinating insects)

Calendula (pollinating insects)

Spring Garden, despite the rain...

Click HERE to catch up with the wildlife in the garden on my YouTube @ripplestone channel.

 

Spring green and gold in the garden

 

kerria

wallflower

hardy geranium, rose, (behind rose) knapweed, phlox, lungwort and small daffs (flowering now over) getting ready for summer

pulmonaria (lungwort)

birdbox and bluetit (taken from indoors hence the blurry image)

new leaves on the little tree

rosemary in full flower

tulips 

new leaves for the elephant ears (bergenia)

grass seed beginning to grow on new lawn area

 

Fresh for Spring, find art cards, small gifts and household decor in my Etsy shop now.

New pack of four handcrafted cards based on my pastel sketches of tulips.
Blank inside for your own personal messages. 

The Gardener's Pocket - A great way to say thank you or send your love to your
garden-loving friends, family.

Pretty mini flower mandala, hand-stitched onto paper, perfect for brightening up desks
or bedrooms for a moment of mindfulness in your busy day.

Signs of Spring in the Garden

 A few days of bright, sunny weather has allowed the ground to dry out enough to mow. Lovely to see some signs of Spring emerging, bulbs, buds, heathers and herbs all beginning to grow away. A chance to finish clearing up sticks and branches from the storms last week, luckily no major damage. 

Some Spring colour, heather and miniature daffs.

Rhubarb starting to emerge!

Trees, Seeds and Crochet

As lockdown eases and the temperature rises it has been lovely to get out & about over the Easter holidays. It is that moment in the year when the trees burst into leaf and bird song and I have spotted my first swallows of the year.

As usual, several windowsills have been full of seed trays, mainly flowers this year and now the days are warm but the nights cold, it is that seasonal dance of bringing trays in and outdoors as they start to harden off and grow on. 

The pasque flowers have survived the frosts  and I'm delighted to find lots of self seeding flowers in the garden, feverfew, ox eye daisies, pansies and a few foxgloves, natures own patchwork. What we need now are milder nights with some rain to help with the outdoor seed planting.

Pasque flowers

Quantock Hills, mini tree and sheep.

Beautiful tree shadows at Glastonbury Abbey in the Spring sunshine.

Mini Granny Squares patchwork crochet in cotton.

Spring arrives with Pasque Flowers & Pots of Seeds

The sudden spell in warm, dry weather has meant lots of growth in the garden and a chance to get out and get on with a bit of weeding and tidying up after such a long lockdown winter.

These Pasque Flowers are a lovely welcome sight for Easter.

The fierce frosts destroyed this old pot but the pansies it held survived, clearing up the pieces, I found this makers stamp with its pretty little flower motive intact.

Peacock butterflies have been emerging in the sudden heat this week, I guess from hibernation, a delightful distraction.

Indoors, pots of seedlings are taking over the windowsills, this week the heat beginning to make them too leggy! I've quite a few 'free plants' outside this year as well, as self seeders start to emerge, feverfew, love-in-a-mist, ox-eye daisies and strawberry plants and the warm temperatures have also meant the chance for a bit of sketching in the garden!

Wishing you Happy Easter.