Monday, June 10, 2019

In the garden at home - still trying to catch up with holiday photos!!

Maximum temperature today 18C, minimum 10C.  Rain measured this morning 0; but some expected later  17km/h North-westerly winds with gusts up to 39 km/h.  

Last Friday it was so windy that we had two apple trees blown over!!  The bigger one (a Granny Smith) we hope we have saved, staked and tied, but it needs a better stake. Holiday today though and no shops open. The smaller one we just removed, it has never produced much and it was not worth the effort of trying to keep it.

Californian poppies.

Peonies.

Climbing rose.

Bumblebee next to the sage.

Bee on the cotoneaster.

Wasp on the cotoneaster and something just above its head!

Common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis).

Love in a mist (Nigella damascena).

Hoverfly (I think) on the Sweet William.

Small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) on the Sweet William,

Carpenter bee (Xylocos violacea) on the Sweet William.

Chafer beetle (oxythrea funesta). Sweet william - popular plant!

Hoverfly.

Two for the price of one on the calendula. I think a hoverfly and  a small bee,

Oedemera nobilis, also known as the false oil beetle, thick-legged flower beetle or swollen-thighed beetle, This is a male, the female does not have such muscular legs.

Shield bug on the cotoneaster.


See also my Bird blog 


32 comments:

  1. Hello Diane: It is good that you were able to save one of the apple trees. Hopefully it will bear lots of fruit for you. As always, a stellar gallery of insect images. I am not the most proficient person with insect ID but hoverflies especially give me fits!

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    1. I certainly hope the Granny Smith survives especially as it was a gift from our french neighbour many years ago now. The ground is saturated and winds of over 95 kph the roots could not hold on! Luckily the other Granny Smith that was a couple of years older stayed fast! I agree hoverflies and ID are not easy to say the least of it. Hope all is well in Canada. Diane

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  2. Your poppies are such a nice color. I have only seen red poppies. I have a peony plant that has one bloom on it. With the strange weather I'm surprised there are any at all.

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    1. I think the weather world wide is going bonkers. We are in the middle of June and it should be warm to hot, I am still walking around with jerseys on complaining I am cold. A lot of my seeds are not coming up I think just too cold! Take care Diane

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  3. Marvelous photos of flowers and little visitors. Sorry to hear about your apple trees, and hope the one can be saved.

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    1. Denise I hope the one will be OK as well. Nigel is just off now to get another stake for support, holidays over the weekend and Monday made shopping impossible! Hope you are well Diane

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  4. I love how you highlight creatures most of us fail to notice.

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    1. There are so many little creatures around if one just looks a little bit harder and they are really interesting. Hope all is well in your part of the world. Diane

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  5. Gosh you sure know your insects. Great shots of them too.

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    1. I generally know what insect they are, but going further with the ID is not always easy. Many of the smaller insects look so alike! Hope all is well in your part of the world, t'other Diane

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  6. I'm sorry about the trees, but hope the one can be saved.

    As always, your photo's are glorious! Such beautiful colors, Diane. Thank you for sharing.

    xoxo

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    1. Thanks Sally, we have re-staked the apple tree but the soil is so we even the stake if now leaning!!! Fingers crossed. Keep well Diane xx

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    1. Thanks Pam I hope that you are keeping well, Take care Diane

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  8. I simply lllllllove your insects photos, Diane. Wasps are beautiful and the butterfly looks like posing for you. I have never seen orange poppies. There are only red poppies in Greece. Hugs, my dear friend.
    PS: I am fine but I am studying hard for my master's exams during this week. We'll talk again next week.

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    1. Well done Mia with your studying, hope all goes as planned. Take care and enjoy the weekend Diane

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  9. Your garden is now filled with so many beautiful flowers. The insects are happy to visit and enjoy the flowers.

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    1. Still lots of seeds coming up but I am not sure how many will survive with our now waterlogged garden!! Keep well and enjoy the weekend Diane

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  10. Gosh that was a strong wind Diane, hope your rescued tree survives. The flower and insect macros are as always fabulouso! Your garden must be a picture 🌸🌹 the California poppies, peonies and roses are divine 💜

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    1. Thanks Grace, so many seeds still to come up but so much rain in the past few days might just kill the off rather than helping them to grow 😒 It seems to be all or nothing!! Have a fab weekend Diane

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    1. Thanks Pam, hope that you have a good weekend Diane

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  12. Oh, Californian poppies! never seen that color. Amazing and beautiful

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    1. I just love the Californian poppies, they are a bright light just outside the lounge window. 😉 Hope all is well, wishing you and the family all the best Diane

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  13. Such wonderful images from your garden, Diane! It doesn't seem to have suffered too much from you being away, but sorry to hear of the damage to your apple trees - it must be very frustrating and quite upsetting. I well know the problem of sorting out photos after a holiday - I usually reckon on one day's sorting for each day of a holiday!

    With my very best wishes to you and Nigel - - - Richard

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    1. Richard I am pretty much stuck on the last two days, We visited 4 bastide towns during the two days, and although different, they are also similar in many ways and trying to fathom out what is what, is taking me a lot of research. Once I get there there, I will have to do more research for the blog.
      The garden is taking up much of my time at present, with all the weeds and grass growing at a rate of knots due to all the rain, if we don't keep up it will all take over. Then the cherries are also time consuming with de-pipping, drying, jamming and freezing etc.
      Hope all is well, best wishes to you both Diane

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  14. Roses as always caught my eye, so pretty ☺

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    1. Thanks Natalia. The plant was a gift from a French friend. Have a good weekend Diane

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  15. Beautiful photos. I love all the flowers and critters. It still seems quite cool where you are. I see it has also been raining in Paris. Enjoy your weekend. It is Car Free Day here on Sunday as well as Father's Day.

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    1. Hi Penny, sorry I seem to have no time spare and I am not keeping up. Hope all is well Diane

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  16. First time I've seen Love in a mist (Nigella damascena) - it is absolutely stunning.

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    1. I love them as well. they are mostly blue, but the occasional pink or white one pops up. Cheers Diane

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