Early Summer Bits and Bobs.

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Monika
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We have the same problem, Primrose. A local beekeeper no longer has hives at our end of the village and I thought I had noticed the lack of honey bees before I actually asked him. Luckily, there seem to be lots of bumblebees about this year. Butterflies, however, are very thin on the ground, only the occasional red admiral, peacock, small tortoiseshell, painted lady and speckled wood, and even hardly any 'cabbage whites'! We have seen a hummingbird hawkmoth on one or two evenings, a lovely sight.
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Primrose
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Thanks for that Snooky. No wonder they are called Busy Bees! Quite remarkable tiny creatures when you consider them, especially when you remember that without them the population wouldn't survive.

My blood curdles when I read stories of bees swarming, ending up in somebody's garden and ignorant people rushing out with their killer insect aerosol sprays to try and eliminate them.
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oldherbaceous
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You have a better selection than we have here, Monika….mostly just small tortoiseshell for us.

I have often thought about getting some bees, maybe one day…
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.

There's no fool like an old fool.
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Primrose
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The lack of butterflies seems to be a common problem - maybe partly due to ewrlier inclement weather and non hatching of caterpillars? Wr,re not growing any greens which need netting this year - only Swiss chard, -trying to keep things simple due my changed circumstances, so it,ironic thst we don,t need the usual anti CabbageWhite netting that previously had become essential.
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oldherbaceous
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How is your trainee coming along, Primrose? :)
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.

There's no fool like an old fool.
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Primrose
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He,s doing well OH . He now recognises when the ground needs needs hoeing for weeds, and the tomatoes need tying in and sideshooting , without my prompting. Mind you, , i nearly had a fit when last week he said "I'll sideshoot all the tumbling tomatoes. tomorrow". Then I looked at his face and realised he was winding me up

But I do think he,s realising now just how much time and effort goes into growing something before it arrives in the kitchen for cooking. . What did surprise me recently was how cross he got when when the wood pigeons started nibbling all HIS Swiss chard seedlings. That really made me chuckle. I think you,re developing signs of becoming a real gardener when you start getting that possessive about your plants !! !

I wish I could say I was owing signs of developing equal competence about sorting out our domestic technology issues when things go wrong !
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oldherbaceous
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You never fail to make me smile, Primrose…. :)
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.

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It seems to be a really good year for soft fruit. I'm getting a bit overwhelmed with all the strawberries & raspberries, but today the red currants had full ripe trusses & the Jostaberry had ripe fruit as well. I note that the blackberries fruit is changing colour as well so not long for them to join the mix. Mind makes for colourful & delicious fruit salads. The gooseberry is not as happy but not pining for them as it is always a dodgy harvest associated with blood loss! ;)
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Colin2016
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Bees swarming is a pain for me... neighbor at bottom of garden has bees and when they swarm next door it is time to get indoors until they clear off.

Couple of years ago was enjoying the garden when the wife got stung a couple of times and I got stung on ring finger, had to do a 36 mile round trip to get the ring cut off.

Notice there seemed some angry ones flying around the back door that year.

There was a swarm the other day which took off over the field, wonder if that means neighbor lost the lot?

I like honey but not the bees that sting.
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Primrose
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Yes, they can create some very hairy situations. The next door neighbour of our local guy who has given up his hives are highly relieved as they were starting to feel very uncomfortable about sitting out in their garden. He just moved and the next day looked out and spotted several hives at the end of his garden.
I suppose they ought to be located away from domestic properties really but there seems to be no law about what is a suitable location. .
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We used to have a hive down the end of our row & going back a few years I was weeding late afternoon & just heard a loud humming type noise. Looked up to see the swarm coming right at me. I was out of there pretty quickly as you can imagine. They headed to the oak tree a few plots down on the farmers field & stayed there for a short while before heading off over the field toward the railway line. It was pretty amazing to watch but the noise is what I remember most as I could have never imagined it would be so loud.
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Stephen
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Dear Monika, I understand your feelings and wish you well. The garden is a great place to be, may the weather be warm for you.
Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
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Primrose
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About 3 years ago I saw some purple toadflax plants in bloom growing in the accumulated kerb dirt near us. (You can tell how infrequently the street cleaners visit round here! We could compete in the "England in Bloom competition!) I pulled up a few plants and transferred them to our garden. I hadn't realised how prolifically they self seed everywhere. They,re now a bit of a nuisance to be honest but the bees love them so I try to resist pulling them out until they've finished flowering.

I'm reading increasingly about people being encouraged to "re-wild" their lawns but frankly I think some of the attempts look simply "messy". It isn,t just about letting the grass and weeds grow, is it? If you want the "meadow" look it really needs to have wild flower seeds scattered in, doesn't it and the Whole surfaced scathed. Many year ago I knew a house whose front verge was coverted to a wild thyme lawn. It looked beautiful when in bloom but quite scraggy the rest of the year. Do you think we gardeners have become too addicted to the concept of " tidiness"?.
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oldherbaceous
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Nothing wrong with having things tidy, you can still have plants that wildlife love…. :)
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.

There's no fool like an old fool.
Stephen
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Primrose, "no mow May" and "rewilding" is all very well. I understand the concept but on the allotment it just seems to mean plants running to seed everywhere.
Last edited by Stephen on Mon Jul 04, 2022 2:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
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