Spring Markers 2024

I have been recording the flowers out on approximately the same day in March for at least 15 years.With the warm winter, it is not surprising that this year there are more species in bloom at the moment with Cowslips, Plum blossom, Japonica, Comfrey, Alkanet all a couple of weeks ahead of last year. Certainly I have a very large number of wild or naturalised plants already in bloom and attracting insects such this Early Bumblebee, Bombus pratorum on the Mahonia.

Mini Garden Invertebrates

An interest in invertebrates can be a serious impediment to any gardening activity. I started to cut down some of the dead plants in the garden but decided to shake them to dislodge any creatures before putting in the green waste bins - a mistake as an hour later I was still photogaphing the abundant spider, snail and other mini-life - some 10 species of spiders alone!!

Life in Miniature in the Garden

I decided last week to do a bit of sweep netting on the cut meadow and margins to see what lives at ground level. Before I started the sweep my eye was taken by this very small Pond Olive with spectacular eyes, a relative of the Mayfly. The Leaf Hopper is a miniature version of the Common Leafhopper

Garden Life Between the Showers

We had some very heavy showers yesterday but in between these the insects and spiders were active. Here a sample of what is around in the garden at the moment.