Last week of May

Moths & Butterflies – Welcome and not so welcome

I saw my first ‘Mint Moth’ this week, of course I didn’t know what it was but as I managed a quick snap shot it enabled me to come in and google it. Not surprisingly they like mint plants! As well as thyme and other herbs.

It’s only small about 2cm across and it’s unusual in that it flies around in the daytime.

The downside of beautiful butterflies and moths is at some stage they have to be a caterpillar and caterpillars eat plants. With the exception of the cabbage white caterpillar eating my brassicas, I do just tolerate plant damage.

The obvious answer is to cover anything that’s particularly prone with netting, which I do and and that’s why my cabbages are looking incredibly un-nibbled in their cage.

Slugs & Snails – Food for the Frogs & Birds

The main patio has been covered with a few piles of bricks this year, so the raised Hosta bed has been hidden behind them. As the builders are using the bricks it came back into view, just as the hosta’s were starting to grow.

What a disaster, they were being eaten straight away. I immediately tried to order some nematodes – an organic way of dealing with slugs and snails, only to find them all sold out. So, I thought what the heck, I’m probably not going to get my patio back this summer anyway so, what will be will be.

Last week though when I went over to do some watering, low and behold many more leaves had come through relatively un-eaten. This just goes to show that now little eco system is working, presumably the birds and the many frogs are busy munching on the slugs and snails!

Greenhouse

The Gherkins are racing off with lovely yellow flowers and mini fruits already. There appears to be a doubler which I’ve not seen before.

The tomato plants seem to almost double in size on a daily basis. There are lots of little flowers and some tiny weenie little tomatoes forming behind them. So, it was not before time that we finally got them strung up last weekend.

We had used canes across the top of the framework to tie string to, that the tomatoes twist around. These had rotted over the years, so we have now replaced them with stainless steal wire. A much more permanent solution!

Roses

The roses have exploded into flower in the last week. Pink ‘Mary Rose’ smells as divine as ever and I can’t resist a sniff each time I pass, hoping to avoid any busy bees! The white streaks on the purple ‘Rhapsody in Blue’, always reminds me of a blackcurrant pudding with cream running through.

Intruders in the white garden

I have some pink intruders in the white garden. That’s the trouble with foxgloves seeding themselves around, you’re never sure whether you are going to get the right colour in the right place! And unfortunately you don’t know what colour they are going to be until they flower, which is too late to transplant!

Anyway, I couldn’t bring myself to pull them up, especially as the bees love them so much. I will though have to make sure I cut them off before they flower!

So with all this glorious weather, I’ll say, “cheers from the pink/white garden” and I do hope you’re all able to get outside and enjoy it.