Tag: Lavender

Posted in nature

An Enchanting Week

Posted on by BITM

My interest in plants extends to herbal medicine and floral folklore. Often found in gardens, such plants are easily accessible.

I find poisonous plants fascinating too. I would like to visit the Chelsea Physics garden as well as the Alnwick Poison Garden in Northumberland. Over the past week, a few wild flowers that I have noticed blooming would probably be found in these gardens, these are;

– White bryony (Bryonia dioica) scrambling over Dogwood (Cornus). White Bryony has poisonous berries and the plant has a very strong unpleasant purgative affect. A few deaths linked to this plant have been recorded.

– Woody Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara).

Also called Bittersweet the plant would make someone incredibly ill; the berries if eaten would cause vomiting and convulsions. There have been a few deaths linked to this plant. It is from the same family as Deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna, See Woodland Trust).

I saw other wildflowers blooming too such as the intriguingly named Enchanter’s nightshade (Circaea lutetiana). Confusingly this flower isn’t from the nightshade family at all but is actually a Willowherb. One folkloric belief was that this plant would give protection against Elvish spells.

I also saw Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) along the verges.

I continued to see many birds and insects throughout the week. After many days since the last time, I was happy to see the juvenile Blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) back in the Rowan tree (Sorbus). Also on Monday I had a Juvenile Robin (Erithacus rubecula) follow me around. Clearly the instincts for locating food near gardeners starts early.

The first moth I saw last week was an adult female Bee moth (Aphomia sociella). These moths are so called because they lay eggs in bee and wasp nests and also bee hives. Their larvae eat the comb, causing damage and are therefore a pest for beekeepers.

Other moths I saw were two Rosy tabby (Endotricha flammealis) moths

and a Dark arches (Apamea monoglypha) moth.

On Wednesday I was working near a fantastic old Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa) tree. Countless Honey bees (Apis mellifera) and Marmalade hoverflies (Episyrphus balteatus) were busy flying to and fro pollinating the flowers.

As the summer continues more and more butterflies become visible. I have seen lots more Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina), Small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) and Large white butterflies (Pieris brassicae). One of them seen here on some lavender (Lavandula).

Also on Wednesday I observed two butterflies that I have never seen before, a Marbled white (Melanargia galathea) on Verbena bonariensis

and a Small skipper butterfly (Thymelicus sylvestris), also seen on the Verbena bonariensis.

Later on the same day I also saw ten Azure damselflies (Coenagrion puella) around the pond.

On Friday morning, as I was going to work, I had to usher a Common green lacewing (Chrysoperla carnea) outside so it could find some aphids to munch on.

Then lastly on Friday I saw a Harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) on Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’.

Posted in nature

Reflecting on a Blooming Lovely Week

Posted on by BITM

I am watching Wimbledon while eating lovely sweet strawberries. The window is open so I can hear the birds singing outside; thankfully the temperature has dropped and it is feeling fresher now. It is a lovely summers day to reflect upon the things I saw last week. More flowers blooming along the roadside include Hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium) Creeping thistles (Cirsium arvense), Spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare), Field Scabious (Knautia arvensis), Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) and Rosebay willowherb (Chamerion angustifolium). Creeping thistle seeds are a great food source for birds that make their home on farmland, while Spear thistle seeds are good for Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) and the nectar enjoyed by the Small copper (Lycaena phlaeas) butterfly. Ragwort (considered harmful to horses and livestock) is great for bees and the Cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae) caterpillars. Even the Field Scabious is a useful food source for bees and butterflies.

Now that July has arrived, my butterfly and moth observations have increased. I have seen,

– A couple of Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata) moths

– Broad-bordered yellow Underwing (Noctua fimbriata) moth

– Least Carpet (Idaea rusticata) moth

– Plain Wave (Idaea straminata) moth

– Two Large yellow underwing (Noctua pronuba) moths

– Along with several that were photo shy including a White Plume (Pterophorus pentadactyla) moth and a couple of Large white (Pieris brassicae) butterflies, three female and one male Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina) butterflies, a Comma (Polygonia c-album) butterfly near a patch of nettles (which are great food for their caterpillars) as well as two Large tortoisehell (Nymphalis polychloros) butterflies. Other butterflies I saw were,

– A Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) butterfly

– Small tortoisehell (Aglais urticae) butterfly on Verbena bonariensis

– Red admiral (Vanessa atalanta) butterfly on wall by Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris)

These weren’t the only insects I noticed throughout the past week as I also saw,

– Two immature male Large red damselflies (Pyrrhosoma nymphula)

– Two Azure damselflies (Coenagrion puella) on Water lily (Nymphaeaceae)

– One Harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) on a Red valerian (Centranthus ruber) leaf.

– Honey bees (Apis mellifera) on an Eryngium bourgatii

-Lots of Honey bees and hoverflies (Syrphidae) on lavender (Lavandula) which is in full bloom.

I am keeping my eye on a large mature Butterfly bush Buddleja davidii ‘Black Knight’ that is starting to flower. A few years ago I took some cuttings from this Buddleja and successfully grew one of my own. My Buddleja is only about a foot tall but it will be flowering soon. I look forward to seeing visitors arrive on both shrubs.

Lastly I couldn’t resist adding a few photos of some Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) someone had planted in their vegetable patch. While I didn’t see any insects visiting it my attention was drawn to the cheery vivid blue flowers, they were so beautiful.