A lot of talk here about a shortfall in the potato crop this year and a likely rise on prices. It's worth checking out local growers who sell to the public.

Butterflies this season have included several of the vanessids including an early comma, 3 whites including orange tip, blues and browns including gatekeeper and ringlet. We've had 2 dragons and 3 damsels around the pond. There are beetles I can't name, various attractive spiders and moths. Thanks to all that help we have a bumper crop of apples and the tomatoes are setting fruit well.

However, this is a very localised population as many neighbours' gardens are pretty sterile places, with striped lawns, block paved fronts  and tight-flowered bedding plants.

One of the biggest bee magnets is an invasive species- Himalayan Balsam. We clear it every year but often too late- we want the bees to have their fill and before we know it seeds have set, pathing the way to next year's invasion.

It's the winds that make spotting insects a challenge this year. I'm beginning to attract damselflies to my 'insect' pond which is a plus. Last year it was new and became a mosquito haven for a couple of weeks before I added two tiny goldfish which stopped that problem but will perhaps eat the damselfly larvae before they grow big enough to eat the mosquito larvae.

Otherwise, bees remain low in number. More hoverflies recently and my neighbour's dog midden is a haven/nursery for blue/greenbottles. Which means al fresco dining is sometimes an issue but the winds often prevent that. Otherwise, my Nicotiana sylvestris are enormous, in bud and I await their evening moth attracting potential. Plus the delicious scent they give off to humans.

I've left mine in two halves- one to see what comes up, and one to which I added English wildflower seeds. The left area is predominantly several grasses, with, across the season, the expected visitors (dandelion, daisy, ribwort plantain) but also a few surprise appearances from hawkweed and forget-me-not. The sown area is a postcard. I need to get down on my knees to see what's in there but hoverflies and butterflies have been using it.

Our pond has always been a hybrid, with goldfish and koi but also frogs, damsels, pondskaters and water measurers. We sit out and watch a good number of damselflies taking off to rest and dry after emerging most years, despite a dozen hungry fish, so you might be okay Nick.

These are lovely plants as well. Night scented phlox. They're stunning around a seating area as in the evening they give off a lovely sweet, sherbety smell. I wish I grew a bit more of it, to be honest:

Scent is important. In the past, I’ve placed pots of Nicotianas in strategic spots. Last years N affinis were fine but over all too soon. Two pots of Nicotiana sylvestris is going great guns this year and just beginning to flower.

I like Borage, bees like it too.

This Euonymus, a borrowed view tree died last winter in the ‘bad’ neighbour's garden. They aren’t gardeners and I guess this will remain in situ for some time. So I have a permanent ‘winter view’. I think they killed it because the leaves or seeds are poisonous to dogs? 

Wild marjoram is a ‘bee plant’. I have a small ‘nursery’ of these that I plan to plant in a wild meadow at work. 

Great to hear! Yes they are lovely plants. There's a few different types of night scented phlox though, so I'd recommend a cultivar called "Midnight Candy" for the best scent! You can buy a packet with thousands of seeds in it and then just start them in seed trays around early February. They'll be ready to plant by summer. 🙂

https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/mint-moth 

29C upstairs here, and rising... I won't need to go to a greenhouse to experience 30C!

(I'd have thought given strong sunshine it'd be nearer 40 under glass today...)

Checked again, currently 30.9C. The sea has a big moderating effect, and I live only about 100 yards from it!! Sea breezes are kicking in.

Exactly the same temperature here. I'll be interested to see what effect it has on the garden... the 39C we had here two years ago to the day made my neighbour's cherry tree leaves wilt, it looked pretty pathetic for the rest of that summer. Since then it's never been the same, and doesn't develop the same lush canopy as it used to.

Yes, I'm surprised how trees survive at times. I can't believe I didn't lose any last year during Storm Cieran, especially the pines, the tallest of which must be 60' tall on sandy soil, and survived an104 mph gust recorded about a half a mile from here.   

Verbena bonariensis is a great plant. I find I am unable to commit the name to memory for some reason, despite having it in the garden for years! A Hummingbird Hawk moth is indeed a joy to watch.

https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/humming-bird-hawk-moth 

Short Clip from 2022:

https://www.facebook.com/SussexWildlifeTrust/videos/hummingbird-hawk-moths-seem-to-be-having-a-good-summer-we-have-had-lots-of-sight/731614444602311/ 

They are not that uncommon. I've seen quite a few over the years. Lots (all relative in the current climate) of evening moths now in this warm weather. Today more butterflies and whilst not a bee explosion, notably more than in previous weeks honey and bumblebees when I just looked outside.

Damsel flies too.

I had a frog issue earlier. I picked up a pot with a fern outside the kitchen and an adult frog hopped off and jumped straight into the drain.

I had to find a scythe sharpener (rough surface) in the shed and allow the frog to climb up it. I saw that they can squeeze though very narrow bars even as adults. The drain cover is cemented in and I didn't want to remove the mortar. I then put it into pond No. 1 to give it a clean. It then hopped into some wild strawberries by the edge.

https://i.postimg.cc/2jz5mjw0/20240809-183440.jpg 

I’m no expert on Japanese acers but from what I've read they won't come true from seed to the cultivar.

I do know the golden/yellow varieties can scorch in bright sunshine. (not such a problem this year and they have done well in my garden).

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/acer/japanese-maples/growing-guide 

Interesting, thanks for the info. 👍

It sounds very similar to how you can't grow the same apple tree from the seeds of the parent plant. There's always a mutation and it's why most of them need a root stock.

Well, gene mixing anyway, as apples have such a wide variety of genes.

We don't get surprised when human children turn out different from their parents (think colour of hair, eyes etc) - why should it be a surprise for apples or maples?

Bolty got me thinking on this damp murky afternoon into clones not seedlings.

Not all clones remain identical either.

https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/questions/do-plants-grown-cuttings-share-identical-dna 

This year I have a very useful ally in the shape of a tame robin which hatched earlier in the year. He is very friendly and goes in and picks the caterpillars off for me.