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 

and My life In the Charente

02/05/2019 Bugs and flowers in the garden.

Maximum temperature today 16C, minimum 7C. 5mm of rain measured this morning. 13 km/h North-westerly winds with gusts up to 28 km/h. We look though as if we are in for a cold weekend before it warms up again next Tuesday.

We had friends to lunch yesterday and it was a really nice day.  We had drinks and starter course sat outside in the sun.  I intended to take some photos but was too busy and forgot!!

 

Mylabris variablis on the Red Robin flowers.

As above only a little closer....

And another one on the dog rose.

Chafer beetle also on the Red Robin shrub.

A bumble bee on the sage.

Lace Border moth  Scopula ornata.

another member of the Chafer family Oxythyrea funesta.

The Red Robin was busy today - A robber fly.

and what I believe to be a member of the soldier-fly family.

Azalea.

Iris.

Climbing rose.

See also my Bird blog 

and My life In the Charente

18/05/2018 A walk around the garden on our return.

Maximum temperature today 22C, minimum 10C.    Dry. 12 km/h North Easterly winds with up to 29 km/h gusts. 

Azalea.

Chives.

Baby fig.

Kalanchoe.

Lavender.

Sage.

Violas.

Cherries ripening.

Hornet.

Irises.

Ladybird,

Common Lizard.

As above.

Peony

Peony and ant.

Rose, I had just watered it! .....

As above.

Unknown, but I kept my distance!

Just liked these clouds.

Down the road, in a stream, this Iris is blooming happily...

Iris pseudacorus 'Yellow Flag Iris'

Fleur-de-lys, Flag Iris

We are back from the rushed trip, as always masses of photos, but the garden needs my attention so will be back blogging when I have a bit more time. 

09/10/2017 Miserable weather and photos difficult.

Maximum temperature 20C,  minimum 11C.  5km/h NE wind with 13 km/h gusts. Rain not measured.

Think the above temps are up the creek, it is cold, and we have had drizzle (not forecast) on and off!!

Yesterday's day 8 of the rose.

Friends to lunch yesterday.

Today's, day 9 of the rose in the morning...

Meanwhile the bud behind the above rose is still looking good.

Sage, with a crane fly in hiding under the leaf.

A last bit of colour from the euonymus and the last of the zinnias.

Pampas.

The beetles that look like African masks are Le Gendarme beetles (Pyrrhocoris apterus).  I am sure the others are closely related but  I do not know what they are.

Harvestman in the sage. (Hadrobunus grandis).

P.S.  For those interested, Part 5 of our holiday in South Africa and Botswana is now on my other blog.