Kitchen Garden Forum

Today was a lovely sunny day again with just very light SW wind and we saw the first redwings feeding and several more skeins of geese crossing over. Yesterday, even warmer than today, brought five species of butterfly into the garden, mainly feeding on michaelmas daisies: red admiral, small tortoiseshell, peacock, comma and speckled wood. And the interesting thing is that, if you look at any butterfly book more than 20 years old, the comma and speckled wood wouldn't be recorded anywhere near the Yorkshire Dales. This also applies to the ringlet of which we see lots nowadays in summer. Global warming or just local changes?

Planted our overwintering onions and garlic this afternoon - 30 each of onion Senshyu and garlic Solent Wight. Both did very well this last year in spite of the cold winter, so, hopefully, all will be well again.

There is a big wild crab apple tree opposite our house (I grew it from a local pip about 25 years ago!) and when tonight's last sunny rays hit it, the apples looked like gold - gorgeous.

Magical words, Monika.

Evening Monika,

That's interesting about the butterflies. Down here in the tropical south, over the past couple of weeks all I've seen are one peacock and a few cabbage whites

Hello, Parsons Jack: I think our butterflies are probably four weeks or so behind yours in their breeding cycle and the ones we saw yesterday would have been second or even third generation of the year here. Our tall michaelmas daisies which always attract the late butterflies have only just started flowering, yours are probably over by now.

Monika wrote:Hello, Parsons Jack: I think our butterflies are probably four weeks or so behind yours in their breeding cycle and the ones we saw yesterday would have been second or even third generation of the year here. Our tall michaelmas daisies which always attract the late butterflies have only just started flowering, yours are probably over by now.

Hi Monika,

Yes, that would explain it. Let's hope next year is as a good a year as this for butterflies

Hi Monica. This last week many skeins of geese flying off from Romney Marsh too, all going on the same direction very noisily, more today.

http://rxwildlife.org.uk/2010/01/page/3/

we have grey lag, brent white fronted and canada geese on the marshes here, Alan corrected me and said we can't have but this link shows we do.

Planted my garlic yesterday and some of it again today! What digs it up? Not birds, planted deeper than that. I think it's rats or voles.
Butterflies on Michaelmas here too, but only Red Admiral (really good quality this year), Peacock and Tortoiseshell. We have various thrushes on White Beam berries, I'm convinced some are Mistles from their size but my wife says there wouldn't be several together. Still seeing migrating Swallows, usually late afternoon for some strange reason. Euonymous is fully red already so definitely Autumn.

Nature's Babe wrote:Hi Monica. This last week many skeins of geese flying off from Romney Marsh too, all going on the same direction very noisily, more today.

http://rxwildlife.org.uk/2010/01/page/3/

we have grey lag, brent white fronted and canada geese on the marshes here, Alan corrected me and said we can't have but this link shows we do.

NB

To be accurate, what I was trying to say was that Canada geese do not migrate, and assuredly not to Canada.

viewtopic.php?p=85061#p85061

I would not presume to tell you what species of geese are present in an area 350 miles from here, where I have never been.

Well, wherever they go Alan, every autumn they head in the same direction and return in spring, their honking always lets me know.

Hi Monika,

We've also had the same butterflies as you on and off for the past few weeks. We've noticed really large numbers of Speckled woods for the past couple of years when we never had them here a few years ago.

The commas have been around for quite a long time now, but seem to be increasing in number. The ones in the garden just now look very fresh as though they have only just hatched out.

There have been very few Common blues this year though and not so many Skippers.

I did see a rather drunk looking Red Admiral yesterday that had been feeding on some rotting fallen apples I'd raked up.

Don't know what happened to the weather forecast for today. It was supposed to be heavy rain everywhere and as soon as it was too late to go out with the walking group the sun came out and it is a lovely day.

Never mind I'll get some washing done instead - know what I'd rather be doing!

Yes, it's been lovely here again, too. Cleared some more summer bedding and all the sweet peas at home and did what Elaine suggested - I sowed some carrots in a large pot and also some leftover brassica and beetroot seeds in small pots for "micro greens", all in the greenhouse.

And just a funny sequel to my mention of the crab apple tree with the huge yellow crab apples: I was just cleaning the windows when our dustmen came to empty the bin today. One of them, a young lad, saw the crab apples across the road, obviously thought they where "real" apples, plucked one off the tree and bit into it. You should have seen his face! He spat out what he had bitten off and threw the rest back into the grass. I had a good laugh, poor chap.

Looks as if we are in for a fine spell of weather, just want the butterflies need.

I did spot a small tortoiseshell in the garden this afternoon. Only trouble was, it was wrapped up in silk and was a large garden spider's dinner