A Red Admiral - You'd Better Salute!

 No more cellulitis, but training for a half marathon on the 16th August and trying to play cricket at the same time have given me the indignity of a pulled muscle in my left buttock, and the hot weather has been very enervating for both human and wildlife alike. And that's before we (won't) talk about the debilitating bouts of IBS. 

I have kept on doing "my thing", whatever that may be, and a lot of that has involved getting a tea from Greggs or some other quality outlet, and visiting Sconce Park or the library gardens to read, clear my head. 

I have upgraded my garden with the pollinator stepladder of delight, and the various wild buddleias that have sprung out of the ground have flowered to attract more buzzers and flutterers. I did have a star visitor though, a perfect red admiral butterfly who was delighted to present itself for my irritating mobile phone camera. 

I hope you are all keeping well and enjoying the world around you, scorched and brown though it is. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 31.07.26 

My Planter Crocuses

 My crocus planters needed a refresh, so back in October I bought some new bulbs, moved the planters to a windowsill where I thought they'd get more light, tucked the bulbs into bed, and waited to see what would happen. 

There were two varieties, dwarf ones and standard ones. and all was quiet in the planters until January, when they began to sprout and grow rapidly. 

They avoided the rat based fate on my allium bulbs - rat repellent is going to be bought to sort that furry four legged problem out - and have brought me a crop of gold, purple and white flowers. 

Sadly they've barely been open, because there's been so little sunlight to be had, especially in my little yard. And they've not attracted any pollinators either, because bees and bumbles haven't been flying in this dull weather. 

But I'm pleased anyway, to have brought a little colour to my concrete corner of the world, rat or no rat. 

Si 

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 10.03.26 

A Silver Y in my Marigolds

 Went into my little stamp sized garden this morning, and immediately my attention was drawn to the planter where I repotted marigolds I bought from the local flower shop a couple of months ago. 

They've done very well, but they are fading now. Best £2.40 I've spent on plants. 

What I initially thought was a bit of dead flower on the edge of the planter turned out to be a sleepy silver y moth! It went and hid under the flowers for a little while, before coming out to sun itself on a flower head, fibrillating its wings as it warmed up, before flying off. 

However, before it did so, I did manage to get a decent photograph of this day flying moth. 

It was a busy day, flutterer wise. The top flowers on my buddleia are being visited by red admirals, and I found a small tortoiseshell sunning itself on my wall, leaving a very gothic looking shadow on the brickwork. 

I add in a few pictures from the library gardens yesterday too. We've had a couple of nice days since the hailstorm insanity earlier in the week. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 14.09.24

Garden Stirrings

 The gloom of winter is starting to lift, there are still faint shreds on light in the sky at 6pm now, and as well as the emergences of colour I've shown you from around the town, I've noticed that things are stirring in my crocus planters too.

If anything, they are ahead of this time last year, I don't recall the flower heads appearing by mid February in 2022. 

I don't know about you - although I doubt any of you would disagree - but I'm glad the days are starting to lengthen, and I won't be cycling home in the dark for much linger, and I'll be able to go for walks in the evening, and that the frosts will hopefully soon be gone for another year.

Cycling in the lowest temperatures we've had for a fair few years was no fun at all. 

Obviously there still might be a sting in the tail to come this season, but as I do every year, I feel this tremendous relief when March begins to get closer on the calendar, and my mental health takes a bit of a boost.

I hope it does for you as well.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 14.02.23

Colour in the Garden

 Sadly not my garden, although things are growing in my planters again, but instead our old family home where my stepfather lives.

This camellia has been growing for many years in the garden, it always gave much joy to my mother for being in flower so much! It only takes a couple of months off every year before coming into bloom again. 

There are no primroses growing in that garden yet, but I'm sure they will soon, they always emerge early there.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 23.01.23

The Latest from the Library Gardens

 Having heard that work had now properly commenced on the "Stop the Chop" library garden, I went over for a look to see what was going on there.

I'd seen the plans, and thought they were rather overkill - I would have just created a path down the middle and sown the rest with pollinators, with a few of the seats constructed from the downed tree trunk. But evidently they have decided to go further, to create a rainwater driven brook going through the site to attract dragonflies and a few more birds. 

They've landscaped a couple of mounds - which I think look a bit rough at the moment to say the least but we will see how they bed in, and have planted a large number of bulbs. 

The most eye-catching feature is the beautifully painted container, used to store equipment and which also doubles as a big planting rack for herbs. The goldfinch is stunning!

So, now we wait to see how things progress. Hopefully in the spring, the first flowers will start to emerge and we will see how natural the whole thing ends up looking in the fullness of time. 

I look forward to taking a book there and whiling away the time under a shady tree.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 07.12.22

My Autumn Oasis

 I still have colour in my postage stamp yard, my little container garden, my little project in attracting pollinators to the yard.

To be honest, the main attractors have been the buddleia and the clematis which grow entirely of their own volition without any input by me, but I could say I have done a good job by not removing them. Besides my own plants have had their moments too, the presence of caterpillars would indicate that butterflies have paid more than a fleeting visit. 

There are still sunflowers, zinnia and cosmos coming into flower, but I've done no more work on the plating front. I'm assuming my crocus and allium bulbs will do for another year, although I did gather allium seeds and plant them too. I suppose right now I ought to be collecting the old flower heads to gather seeds from them too. 

It's all a learning experience.

I turned 50 over the weekend. My main present should be treating myself better and enjoying myself more. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 10.09.22

Latest Garden Funs

 Well, I'm determined to do more posting again, now that the cricket season is coming to an end and I won't be too sore and battered to go walking and cycling. 

It has taken a long time for some of my pots and planters to get going, but there's a fair bit of, er, action going on now if plants growing very slowly counts as action.

After an eternity, the alysia has come in to flower, after a period during which I thought I'd killed them all and had to thin them. They are great for pollinators apparently, but the flowers look very teeny tiny for that. 

Also after a long old time, there's flowers blooming in one of my seed bomb planters, various little pink, white and purpley things. Not a clue what they are of course.

I have a second, and rather more impressive sunflower in flower, pretty much the sole survivor in its planter. It looks beautiful. And in front of that, I have two planters of nasturtiums on the go, hopefully I'll see flower heads soon, else I might have to thin them. 

I've had a second flush from my coreopsis. and that looks rather nice. Most of the rest of my pots I got earlier in the summer have gone to seed more or less, apart from the geraniums. 

My first season as an incompetent gardener and I've enjoyed it. Some things haven't worked, others have. It's a very middle aged thing to be doing, it feels like, but hey I'm nearly 50. 

The sense of reward when something grows and blooms in the way it should is very gratifiying, and also very helpful from the old mental health point of view. 

Let's see what happens in September.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 31.08.22

A Spot of Deadheading

 On my sister's advice, I had a bit of a garden tidy up tonight, deadheading the coreopsis, hacking back the brown and dry phlox, and removing all the past it allium from the planters.

When doing the latter, I found that the soil in the planters were covered in the seed heads from the allium, so I spread them out a bit, gathered a few to put in the planter I'd just removed the dead poppies from that never flowered, and covered them thinly with soil. 

I will eave themm out a bit longer, then transfer them to the mini greenhouse for autumn and winter and see what happens. The bulbs will still be in these planters too. 

Felt rather pleased with myself for doing this, it seemed a very proper gardener thing to do!

I've enjoyed this rather insignificant standard of gardening in the great scheme of things, I find it wonderfully constructive and therapeutic. 

And middle aged, but hey, who cares.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 28.07.22

Garden Update

 After a slow period, where nothing much seemed to be happening, we now seem to have had a bit of mini flowering of various bits and pieces.

The last couple of allium appear to be developing clusters of red flowers, not yet open. Flower heads area appearing in the poppy tub, there's a feeble blue showing from the very few cornflowers in the tin bucket that have survived.

The wildflower seeded tubs have got things going on, with pink and red spiny poppies, sweet allison and what appears to be honesty, with other plants appearing to be just about ready to bloom too.

The clematis type shrub on the back wall has gone mad, and lots of white flowers have emerged there, which the bees love, and it also provides cover for the sparrow families nesting round and about, including in a hole in a fire escape stair rod. 

Nasturtiums have sprouted in the mini greenhouse, as have the antirhynus. 

I did feel there was rather a lot of green however, so I caved in and bought some marigolds and geranium, which are brightening the place up and offering pollinators feeding opportunities; tiny bees like the french marigolds by the look of things. 

Most of it planted by me in the end though, a first time gardener.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 08.07.22

Greening the Garden

 So, let's have a look and see what progress I've made in turning my garden area, tiny and comprising nothing but flint chips, into some sort of mini-haven for nature. 

This has all been done with pots and containers, but mother nature has added her own splashes of life. 

My alliums attract pollinators, but not as much as the herb robert and ragwort that has erupted through the ground beneath the stones. Tree bumblebees and especially early bumblebees have come down to feed. 

The sparrows use the big sprawling clematis at the back for cover as they dart in and out of the window feeder on the flat upstairs, and my washing line feeder when I can remember to fill it. 

Life has happened in all my containers and pots now, they have all had things sprouting. The lemon and orange and autumn sunflowers are strong, the poppies have sprouted as have the convovulvus and alysium. 

The cornflowers didn't make it though, they grew tall then withered. I think I should have thinned them. Consequently I decided to thin the convovulvus tonight to see if that might help it flourish.

I did it with scissors, and I have no idea if I've done it right! 

We shall see.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 09.06.22