The wildlife

One of the good things about the new garden is the increased insect life. There is nothing more pleasant than to sit on the stone wall of the raised lavender bed, hearing the buzz of the bees around these fragrant purple flowers, whilst watching a couple of tortoiseshell butterflies flit among the vibrant phlox and another delicate pink flower whose name I do not know, growing in the bed below.

We’ve even had a couple of visits from a naval leader, a red admiral.

Although these may not seem particularly rare butterflies, they are rare to our garden. Previously we’ve attracted speckled woods & cabbage whites but that’s it.  One year we did get inundated with cinnabar moths with their bright red markings but that must be over ten years ago.

At present the birds seem to have deserted us. I suspect because there is so little cover. Things should improve as the shrubbery bushes out & the trees start to grow with great leaf canopies. As a few nest sites & quick shelters to escape predators appear I’m confident they will be back. They do fly over & take a look from time to time. And winter food will always attract them.