Lots to choose from for this week’s Six on Saturday highlights.
We picked up a couple of second hand pots at the market, along with a few bedding plants to brighten them up. Having said last week that I wanted more dicentra, for their lovely heart shaped flowers, when I saw this plant at the local market for just £5 I had to get it. These pretty pots are right by the back door and they brighten up the view very nicely.
2. I believe this is a beefly, that is a fly impersonating a bee.
3. The forget me nots are bringing me spring joy, and there’s been a notable uplift of bees, butterflies, birds and hoverflies over the last day or two as we finally got a little more sunshine here in Somerset.
At first I thought this was a bee, but then was reminded that its actually a bee-fly, and I’ve seen these before… https://doingtheplan.com/2022/04/30/to-bee-or-not-to-bee-well-actually-its-a-bombyliidae/
3. The bluebells are looking rather splendid. I believe that that these ones are Spanish bluebells, which have a more upright habit than the native British bluebell. We’ve planted out a few British bluebells, and I think we have a few hybrids here in the garden too. Some say native plants are best for wildlife, others say it’s a bit more nuanced than that. I like the variety, and it seems like the insects do too.
4. The apple tree, the bay, the penstemon and the massive yukka made it through another wet winter. The bird feeders in the apple tree have been visited by all sorts of birds. I’ve spotted blackcap, siskin, greenfinch and goldfinch, as well as robin, blackbird, wren, bluetit, great tits and sparrow… I’m taking a bit more time to look, listen and learn about the birds. There is a seemingly almost magical app from Cornell University, called ‘Merlin’ which listens to – and identifies bird song. https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/
5. The wild garlic at the bottom of the garden behind the veg bed is at its peak of tastiness – tender and mildly garlicy, and a great addition to pasta pesto, fish dishes, and soups. The wall at the bottom of the garden is much clearer after my marvelous husband removed a large amount of ivy.
Also thanks to him the veg bed is looking great, with beans, spuds and leeks coming along.
6. The wisteria is fit to burst into bloom soon. Oooh the anticipation…
So that’s my six garden highlights for this week. After a long wet winter, in which I lost enthusiasm for the garden, the spring sunshine is luring me out of the gloom and it’s a wonderful thing.
See more selections from garden blogs for ‘Six on Saturday’ at Garden Ruminations. In the UK spring is finally springing, and there’s a great selection of new blooms to enjoy!
Hope you have a lovely weekend,
Jen x
Wonderful to see your Six back! We’re drawling out of winter a couple of weeks behind you, daffs and other bulbs finally in flower, our two dicentras also blooming — and celandine everywhere! It’s invasive here, but it will be difficult to dig up because it’s so pretty …
Lovely to see a bit of sun. You’ve reminded me that I need to source some hoops for the garden netting this year.
Yucca looks different somehow. I do not remember what species it is, but it now looks like Yucca filamentosa.
I don’t remember bee flies being a thing I was aware even a few years ago. Have they become more common in recent years I wonder. I saw a humming bird hawk moth this morning and got mildly excited, then started worrying that seeing these things earlier each year is probably not a good thing.
The wisteria looks wonderful – so many flower buds