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THE BIG BUTTERFLY COUNT AND A GIVEAWAY WINNER

Beautiful Anchusa with its gentian-blue flowers.

It's a hardy perennial, mainly upright with an annoying tendency to flop!

It's still one of my favourites, and over a long flowering period it keeps the bees and hoverflies happy too.



It's the last day to get your Big Butterfly Count in.

Nothing like waiting until the last minute, I entered my findings today!

2 x Large White
3 x Small White
1 x Red Admiral
3 x Gatekeeper
1 x Common Blue
1 x Peacock
1 x Comma

That's what I noted down from my own garden, over a 15 minute period.

Has anyone spotted a Painted Lady this year?



Thanks to all for entering into my giveaway, commenting on a favourite perennial of yours.

With names scribbled on paper, scrumpled into tiny balls, I picked out a winner.

Tales from a Cottage Garden

Congratulations, it's you!

A favourite perennial - well it has to be the cottage garden favourite - the lupin - beautiful and tough as old boots!

Couldn't agree more Jeanne!

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ORIENTAL POPPIES AND BEES

I've had the day off work today, and early this morning I took a leisurely walk around the garden, dilly-dallying with the camera. Lou if you're reading, I was in my nightie!

I noticed bees around the Oriental Poppies buzzing in the most crazy way outside and inside the flower head.

They were loving the rich velvety centre ...



and the silky-smooth crepiness of the petals.

o

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... a ginger-haired Bee, on Purple Toadflax.

o

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CEPHALARIA - GIANT SCABIOUS

Giant being the operative word! This plant requires a lot of space.

A hardy perennial with pincushion heads of lemon-yellow flowers. A lovely addition to a cottage style garden, and makes a pretty stem for cutting. Its nectar is loved by both butterflies and bees.



The weather here in the South has been gorgeous, with warm, sunny days, with an odd blip here and there!

With longer daylight hours, evenings have been spent titivating, with more serious gardening only happening on days off.

Maybe now's the time to sit back and enjoy the fruits of one's labour!

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YELLOW DEADNETTLE AND BUMBLEBEE

Not as it may seem, the deadnettle is not related to the nettle family, but is a member of the mint family, hence it invasiveness in the borders. Even so I have found it fairly easy to pull out in areas where it is not wanted.

With its yellow-flowered angular stems and hairy non-stinging leaves, it looks lovely blending in with the fresh greens to be found in the garden at this time of year.



Many bees, bumblebees and moths are attracted to the flowers which contain nectar and pollen. I did spot a red-tailed bumble bee with its head in a flower too.

If you want to help the survival of the bee species, add it to your garden and you will discover why this plant is sometimes called Bee Nettle, a fitting name.

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ANTIRRHINUM AND BUMBLEBEE

The plants are pollinated by bumblebees, and the flowers close over the insects when they enter and deposit pollen on their bodies. The bee in my photo had a very orange hairy back, anyone good at bee identification?

I was encouraged by the lady tending the plants in B&Q to buy this large pot of white Antirrhinum for half price! I am so glad I did, after initially deadheading, there have been lots more flowers and more to come, and hopefully be able to treat as a perennial and use next year? Remember calling these plants bunny rabbits, when you were small?

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BORAGE AND BEES

On the very few sunny days we have had this month I have noticed a lot of bee activity on the Borage which has self-seeded in a large clump in an area of my garden. To capture a bee on photo has been difficult as they tend not to hang around on any one flower for any length of time.

The herb Borage originates from central Europe and the Mediterranean. The flowers and leaves are edible with a cucumber taste. The plant is said to 'lift the spirits'.

Introduce Borage to your garden and it has a tendency to take over, so be prepared to be ruthless with much of it ending up as compost, even when it is looking at its best. When pulling up I use gloves, as I find the prickly white hairs on the stems can irritate the skin. Before composting, break down the structure of the woody stems by crushing, as I find this helps to speed up the decomposition process.

Do leave some though, as great nectar for bees, as the honey below shows.



The bright blue flowers of Borage produce a delicately flavoured honey. The bees are taken to the field and when they have finished collecting the nectar, the seeds are harvested to produce Starflower Oil. Click on Borage for all the benefits and facts about the plant.



A recipe - salad of Borage and garden flowers

a handful bull’s blood leaves
20 borage flowers
10-15 purple or pink violet flowers
1 rose, petals only
15 nasturtiums
a handful rocket (with flowers if possible)
4 dill fronds
10 purple basil leaves
1 unwaxed lemon, grated zest, juice of ½
30g parmesan, finely grated
40ml extra virgin olive oil

Wash the leaves and flowers and gently pat dry.
Place in a bowl with the lemon zest and Parmesan and season with sea salt and black pepper. Squeeze over the lemon juice and drizzle with the olive oil.
Toss the salad lightly with your fingers, check the seasoning and serve immediately.

This recipe and photo is taken from the Waitrose website.

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LAVENDER - Loyalty, Love, Devotion
AND BEES

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green;
When I am king, dilly dilly, you shall be queen.
Who told you that, dilly dilly, who told you so?
'Twas my own heart, dilly dilly, that told me so.

Call up your men, dilly dilly, set them to work;
Some to the plough, dilly dilly, some to the cart;
Some to make hay, dilly dilly, some to thresh corn;
While you and I, dilly dilly, keep ourselves warm.

If I should die, dilly dilly, as well may hap;
Bury me deep, dilly dilly, under the tap;
Under the tap, dilly dilly, I'll tell you why;
That I may drink, dilly dilly, when I am dry.

Anonymous

Lavender's green, dilly dilly, Lavender's blue;
If you love me, dilly dilly, I will love you.
Let the birds sing, dilly dilly, and the lambs play;
We shall be safe, dilly dilly, Out of harm's way.

I love to dance, dilly dilly, I love to sing;
When I am queen, dilly dilly, you'll be my king.
Who told me so, dilly dilly, who told me so?
I told myself, dilly dilly, I told me so.

An English folk song dating back to at least 1849, and is said to be connected with the festival of Twelfth Night and the choosing of the king and the queen. I am not sure if the two additional verses above were part of the original rhyme?



In Provence in France, hives are taken to the fields of lavender in order to produce Lavender honey which is pale and gold with the flavour of the flower. The bee above hasn't had to be taken to the Lavender, it has invited itself!



I often find one of these around the garden, a bee hole. A home for ground nesting bees, usually in a dry and undisturbed part of the garden.

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SEDUM

I really like sedum (spectabile means worth seeing), it displays welcome colour at the time of year when the garden is starting to lose a lot of its vibrance and colour.

Every stem of this lovely perennial is topped with flat heads of starry flowers, at this time of year, deep pink, and the bees and butterflies love it!

Once flowering has finished don’t be tempted to cut back, when left the seed heads provide great winter interest to the garden and may even be a source of winter food for the birds.

Butterflies are drawn to blues and pinks, moths prefer white flowers.