Friday 13 June 2014

Silken Threads and Crystals

Gentle Reader~~~as the true start of Summer approaches, the days are noticeably warmer and gentle breezes blow, with short, sharp and unexpected showers of thundery rain~~each morning the garden greets me in a glistening garment of silken threads sprinkled with sparkling crystals.  Sometime during the night, spiders spun their magic weaving across the bushes and trees and finest strands of silk float out across the garden.  The dew, like fairies tears, glistens and glimmers~~but wait a while and all disappears as the rising sun warms the grateful earth and all is as if they were never there, now trapped in the memory of my mind, like a ghost of a whisper at dawn~~~

















I have only one allium left in the garden now, so it stands, a solitary sentinel of the ranks that once looked so proud and upright amidst the frothy acid green Alchemilla Mollis.  I do so like to photograph it in macro, filling the frame with it's spiky silvery~purpleness as each new day brings more of it's crown of stars to fulfilment.  I just love the green and purple combination~~~













The courgettes {zucchini} are growing from strength to strength each day now and there are ten small plants today ~~~



Golden rosebuds burst open, gently kissed by the morning dew ~~~
 


And strange creatures invade the garden too!  This is a Hummingbird Hawk moth Caterpillar ~~~ a scary looking creature and quite the ugly bug, but weirdly beautiful in it's uniqueness too, helping warn off hungry birds ready for a juicy snack ~~~
 

A warty toad ~~~ but I am worried that I haven't seen that many in the garden at all this year ~~~
 

The current bane of my gardening life!  The beautiful, yet so destructive, Mullein Moth Caterpillar~~~such pretty markings, but will demolish my Verbascum {Mullein} overnight!  They are voracious giants too, reaching about four inches long with appetites to match ~~~
 

Oedemera nobilis, also known as the False Oil Beetle, Thick-Legged Flower Beetle on a wild white Morning Glory~~~

A well camouflaged moth hides on the stone wall of the cottage~~hoping to remain unseen~~~

 
 

While a big Great Tit watches, waiting to swoop for a feed!


Here are some small and very pretty flowers.  I must find out what they are, for they are very sweet and delicate.  The seed freely in amongst the stones and borders in yellow, pale and deep blue, with miniature sword~like leaves~~~


This is quaking grass~~~a prolific self~sower that is now everywhere in my garden!  The original was given to me by my Aunty Non who passed away a few years ago~~~but her gardening legacy grows on in the gardens of many across the village and The Shire~~~
 

Finally, a well earned reward~~~some lovely chocolates, handmade in Wales by Sarah Bunton chocolates ~~~ I especially like the Green Tea in the dainty chocolate teacup!  How novel is that?



On that delicious morsel, I shall leave you for tonight, safe in the knowledge that ~~~ 



~~~A Gardener's Work Is Never Done~~~

14 comments:

  1. Love the early morning, dew sprinkled tour of your lovely garden! It is always a pleasure to see what it holds, even the menace of a caterpillar...So pretty! And, those chocolates? Well, you already know how cute and yummy I think those are!! Stay well my sweet friend, Donna =)

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    1. I love that early morning translucency {is that a word?} and the fragile, disappearing nature as the day gets underway. How do you like your tea: in an Emma Bridgewater mug or a Sarah Bunton chocolate tea cup? Now, there's a conundrum!

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    2. Quite the conundrum, indeed!!! And, yes, it s a word...Perfectly describing these photos! Stay well, beautiful garden keeper! ~ Donna =)

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  2. What a treat this whole post is! I love the spider web photos so much. They seem magical, don't they?

    The "critters" are fun to see! I hope they don't eat too much of your garden! I enjoy seeing how the birds are similar to mine.

    The quaking grass is so cool...I want some! Oh, and some chocolate, too please!!

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    1. Wondering how easy it might be to harvest some of that seed for you? I've never even tried because it just seeds itself so prolifically everywhere. So, that is my new challenge then?

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  3. The photos are so beautiful! You are quite knowledgable and I have learned a few things! Thanks so much for your comment. I hope to be able to post again soon. We'll see! So frustrating!

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    1. Gardening is a steep learning curve, and expensive if you keep repeating the same mistakes so I've become a fast learner! So far, I hope I'm learning more than I'm forgetting! Looking forward to seeing more of your lovely photos very soon.

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  4. Great pictures! I love seeing the different birds and insects that are in other parts of the world, what wonderful colors they all are, including that warty toad. :) Those chocolates do look like a nice treat, how fun the tea cup shaped one is!

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    1. Oh, me too April! I follow a few FB pages and it is amazing how alike, yet just that tiny bit different some of the flora and fauna are. Can't wait for Autumn to try your Mushroom Chowder!

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  5. Debs, your garden has so many colorful visitors! Great photography!! I spent many happy hours in the garden today, in the company of several robins, buzzing bees, and a curious groundhog looking at everything as if he had just wandered into a 'salad bar.' (I wish he enjoyed weeds!) ♡

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    1. Thank you Dawn! Yes, we have lots of visitors, and love to watch the bird feeders in the dark winter months especially. I love to encourage wildlife in, even the ones that munch their way through my plants! {except slugs and snails, I draw the line with them! lol} Would have loved to see that groundhog's face!

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  6. I love your prose and photos. I would love to know the name of that little blue flower, too.

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    1. Thank you Cathy ~~~ and I'm thinking it might be this ~~~
      Sisyrinchium Bellum Blue Eyed Grass ~~~ well, that will be the darker of the two, so I must look for the paler one, and I also have a yellow one that has a shorter, stubbier leaf.

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