The summer solstice in the northern hemisphere occurred on 21st June at 5:14 am but Midsummers Day was yesterday the 24th June, a day that’s meant for us to appreciate all the gifts that nature gives us. So let’s do that: 1 Hardy Geranium ‘Orion’is a seedling from Geranium Brookside, it bears large flowers that are…
Category: Nature
the phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations.
Six on Saturday | Sunshine
After a cold and wet start to summer this week has by contrast been warm and dry – in some parts of the country even hot, but Cornwall doesn’t really do hot, though in this clear and unpolluted region even 19°C feels hot enough for me. I thought that this week I’d have a wander…
Six on Saturday | Dappled Shade
My newest border is the Dappled Shade one which was created a couple of years ago by removing a piece of lawn to join the areas beneath my two trees. This bed gets some morning sun and then afternoon and evening sun from the other side. The bed is shaded by the Twisted/Contorted Hazel and the…
Six on Saturday | here comes summer
A quick one from me today as I think I have fallen to the dreaded Covid after returning from a short trip to Devon. Headache, runny nose, sore throat and a painful cough means sitting in front of a screen is not advisable. I shall be returning to my sick bed any minute now. However,…
festival of spring #10
A flower that is quite common around Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is the Gladiolus communis subsp. Byzantium better known as ‘Whistling Jack’ or the ‘Sword lily’. It is a relic of the Scilly bulb fields and is extensively naturalised where there is little frost. It flowers from May to July. You can buy bulbs for…
Six on Saturday | In the Shade
Long-standing readers of this blog will know by now that I don’t have a proper front garden to my property. We are in a courtyard shared with four other neighbours and the only outside space is a granite ledge and steps to the front door. To make matters worse it is north-facing so receives no…
festival of spring #9
Introduced into gardens before the 1600s, this plant from the Mediterranean soon escaped and became naturalised in the wild. Despite its non-native status, it is a good source of nectar from May to October for bees, butterflies and moths like the Hummingbird Hawk-moth. This is Centranthus ruber var. coccineus. Often known as the red valerian,…
Six on Saturday | What heat wave?
Whilst the rest of the UK – well the south east anyway – reached the highest temperature of the year so far here in the far west of the south-west it has been a challenging week at best. Torrential rain, wind, muggy mid-teen temperatures and some sunshine. At least it meant I could get my…
World Bee Day 2022
World Bee Day is an annual holiday that falls on 20 May every year to celebrate the contribution that bees make to our planet and raise awareness of how we can prevent their decline.
Cornwall in Colours 