Bee-friendly planting

Today's firsts: first nasturtium, love-in-a-mist, buddleia, borage. Inspired by our trip to Kew to see The Hive, we have been staring suspiciously at every possible plant to see if the bees like it, and stolen a bit of Veronica from Carrie's folks' garden because we noticed that the ones in the demonstration garden were absolutely covered in bees of all kinds. The Council has planted a beautiful carpet of wildflowers in the park, and we have at last realised that the patio at the front does not want to be a patio. It wants to be a wildflower meadow. In fact, it is a wildflower meadow. So our job is to stop interfering with it and let it get on with it. Worried that everything would die in the heat, I rigged up the hose so we could connect it from the tap at the back and filled up the water barrel, adding the nettles to make plant food. So of course it then rained torrentially for 24 hours. We're having Mediterranean weather, very hot and humid with heavy showers, which is just perfect for the garden, so it all looks wonderful and new things bloom every day.
I've wrestled the morning glory outside, with some difficulty...............only the one planted indoors has done well this year, but the seeds are now about fifth-generation so perhaps it's time to buy some new ones next year. There is a huge sweet pea overwintered from last year in the greenhouse - this is  not where it's supposed to be, but it seems to like it and is producing a steady flow of beautiful white flowers. The salad in the cold frame has finally bolted so I've put in some peas instead, both sets of beans are now flowering so hopefully they will fruit soon, and the first courgettes flower has also appeared.
But.......I have inflicted total carnage on the clemati and the honeysuckle. The white rose has been putting up lots of blind shoots and the other roses were completely swamped, so I've cut the whole lot down. It meant sacrificing the purple clematis while it was still flowering, but I want to see where it comes from so I can tie it up properly and feed it etc, and to keep the honeysuckle under control a bit. The latter has grown away up into the birch tree anyway, nice and near the hives, so I'm confident it won't die.....

chucked some wildflower seeds around so we'll see what happens....

this is the bit that fell off when I was planting it, doing rather well..........

We found this growing in Hill House compost heap - probably a peach stone.

Climbing French beans, having outgrown their support.......

OK this is not elegant, but trying to stop the apple tree and crocosmia from sitting on the rose aand getting tangled together. the crocosmia is really too big so once it's finished flowering we plan to move in into the space at the back, and I might get it one of those fancy support things they have at the Botanics to stop your perennials flopping over..........

pink jasmine just starting to flower

Apple, fennel and buddleia looking rather fine......

June gap

As usual, the summer has been so busy that I've got a bit behind on documenting it all, what with honey harvesting, Wimbledon, Pride, trips to Hill House etc, and sorting out hundreds of photos of frogs. However, it feels as if the flowers have been particularly prolific this year - this lovely clematis hasn't flowered for a few years, but for some reason, this year it did. In memory of Zam maybe.....
But it has, at last, been HOT. So everything has burst out................beautiful bee-friendly wildflowers in the park:

Monte persists in his attempts to stalk the frogs:

Kitski is more interested in sunbathing:

And so are they:

This big one always seems to like to sit near or on the plank, we've called him Ferdinand, although on reading up on frog biology it's possible he may be a girl. However he is certainly  vain and likes to pose for his photo, he is completely unfazed by the cats and sometimes doesn't even bother to submerge as they trot past.................

The Perfumed Garden

At this time of year it really is. Lilac, roses, vanilla Nemesia, sweet peas......lots of flowers to cut for the house. The lilac is definitely lasting longer this year and the warm weather followed by burst of rain has really caused everything to race away. The big paeony has been and gone but the other one still isn't out.......and much to my disgust I discovered that my belief that I'd managed to dig out the World's Stubbornest Paeony from the front was misplaced - it is STILL THERE and coming up defiantly beside the pink rose. However other bits of it are definitely round the back and planted on the bank at the back of the pond. I've put in Shirley's geranium, and her nicotiana seedlings are coming on fine. Purple basil starting to come up and Sainsbury's basil planted in the greenhouse and herb frame. Flying saucers out into their pots, and miserable cacti repotted - they have never been happy in that copper bowl so I've dismantled it and given them individual pots in the sun. Miserable Bird of Paradise heavily watered and outside for its summer hols along with the cane begonia.

Paeony just about to flower (June 2nd)

Sweet rocket

we weren't planning on growing mushrooms, this is meant to be verbena bonariensis......

Geranium looked so pinched and miserable after the winter, good to see it flowering now........

Sage flowers.......thymes just starting to flower as well....................

The Frog & Fountain

We are absolutely enthralled by the frogs. I am not sure that it's mutual. Monte is also enthralled by them, though possibly not for the same reasons. We have had the usual beautiful June weather while the exams were on which has now given way to cool and dull i.e. normal summer, but in the good weather the frogs were out every day sunbathing and enjoying the shower we have installed for them. Like so:

What the well-dressed frog is wearing, a chic lilac flower behind the ear

Little and large

He hasn't quite figured out where they go when he tries to pounce on them..

One of my favourites, posing nicely to contrast his colours with the Bloody Dock. There is another small frog on the bit of iris on the left - see him?

see him now?

You can't see me if I hide under the slate, hahaaaaa!

Anything you can do I can do better.......so I am going for *two* lilac flowers

Nonsense. The very latest is one lilac flower and a bit of duckweed.

Well, *I* am going to bring a friend.........

So am I, but just to be multicultural, *my* friends are the water snail and pond skater on the left.....

Today was a bit cold so only hardy teeny frog was out........

And finally today's frog..................still a bit chilly this morning so no sign of any of them and I was just about to give up when this one sprang out of the pondside undergrowth, leapt into the water, swam across and posed nicely on the mint so as not to miss his photoshoot. I wonder if all this attention is going to their heads. I suppose the next step is the photographers from "Hello" magazine coming to view their lovely home......

Pottering

One of those beautiful warm sunny days, and a whole day of just pottering about. Bit of weeding, planting things out, but mainly just loving the garden and watching the frogs. They are so cute. Monte is so funny trying to stare into the water and sticking his great furry face right in, whereupon they swim off smartly and he wonders where they've gone. And I do love the bit where you're staring into the pond and suddenly realise that a bit of it is staring back.....

Katisha helping