My Pensby Garden

Fern

2011-07-01T04:35:00.000+01:00

I have a number of ferns in the garden, most of which originated at the caravan where they grew wild in the garden. Unfortunately, despite having a number of fern identification books, I have difficulty identifying them.

This fern which can be found half way up the ‘waterfall’ on my top pond (sounds grand but the waterfall is a pump-driven trickle and the pond about 6 square feet) has very leathery and shiny fronds and meets some of the description of Hard Shield Fern (Polystichum aculeatum) but the frond shape is wrong.

I would love to have a fern expert come and identify them for me though he would find the exercsie fairly unexciting as I'm sure they are all very common species..

Pollen Beetle

2011-06-30T23:12:00.007+01:00

The Goatsbeard is covered in pollen beetles, each about 2.5mm (one tenth of an inch) long..

This one fell onto my hand while I was taking photos and I was fortunate enough to capture it as it opened its elytra and showed its wings.

An unidentified millipede

2011-06-30T19:12:00.000+01:00

The Chrysalis Snail

2011-06-29T16:52:00.000+01:00

I had a look at some of the mini-species lurking in the undergrowth of the back garden. This is the Chrysalis Snail (Lauria cylindracea) - a common snail of woods, hedges and walls. It's only 3mm or 4mm long compared to the common Garden snail which is 35mm to 40mm high.

Goatsbeard

2011-06-18T06:17:00.000+01:00

Goatsbeard (Aruncus dioicus) is one of the native plants I have in the garden. It has taken over a spot by the pond and doesn't seem to mind how much I cut it back to keep it in its place without overflowing too far. It's a very accommodating plant.

Irises 'Arctic Age' & 'Silverado'

2011-06-17T08:07:00.000+01:00

A Father's Day present from last year from Bryony and Mark was Iris 'Arctic Age'. It has made a perfect Father's Day present for this year as well as it is flowering in the build up to Sunday.

Another Iris from Bryony and Mark was Iris 'Silverado'

Mesembryanthemums

2011-06-16T08:30:00.005+01:00

Gardening shoes

2011-06-15T06:21:00.004+01:00

I think these may have reached the end of their useful life!

Garden Villain

2011-06-14T06:16:00.003+01:00

But he looks so innocent when he's a youngster.

Annuals

2011-06-13T06:11:00.010+01:00

Among the annuals I've planted this year are Calceolaria.

Mesembryanthemum

Mimulus

and Osteospermum.

The pergola

2011-06-12T16:37:00.000+01:00

We are much more used to sitting on the patio and looking through the pergola in the reverse dircetion.

The Gap

2011-06-11T13:57:00.001+01:00

This is the gap in the front hedge that loss of the Fuchsia created last winter. Just clearing out the dead wood has been a massive job and I've left some in there to act as a support to a Clematis montana 'Freda' that I've bought to help fill in the hole as quickly as possible. To my surprise, in clearing out the dead wood I eventually came across the bottom of the main trunk and there were some new shoots growing from it so the plant itself has survived. Just twenty years to wait for it to fill in the hole again.

Fuchsia genii

Fuchsia Dr Foster

I also bought a Fuchsia genii and a Fuchsia Dr Foster to help with the gap filling. I also have a successful cutting of Viburnum plicatum which I shall add when I can reach the spot I want to plant it. That's still buried behind more dead wood!

While at the nursery I bought another Fuchsia (F. hatschbachii) and it was my original intention to replace the Solanum with it. Jo has since mentioned how much she also liked the Solanum so for the moment I shall leave the space there in the hope of replacing it.

I also got two more Clematis and their future location has yet to be decided.

Clematis 'Bonanza'

Clematis 'Arabella'

I was thinking of having one by the front door. There was a climbing plant there (before our time) and the trellis still remains. But the spot gets no sun at all. Would a Clematis flower there I wonder? I think I'll keep one in its pot for a year or two and let it grow up the trellis. If it fails to flower I can then move it.

Froghopper larva

2011-06-07T20:47:00.007+01:00

I have been very remiss of late and not shown many insects on this blog (though my pictures of the Ceanothus did show a honey bee and a carder bee).

I accidentally brushed against some cuckoo spit the other day and this froghopper larva ended up on my hand.

Some more flowers

2011-06-06T17:42:00.014+01:00

Clematis jackmanii .

A double Clematis I brought from the caravan - unfortunetaly it lost its name in the process.

The Dog Rose is giving me great pleasure.

The Sambucus Black Lace has a lot of flowerheads this year.

A patio rose - I think it is British Olympic Gold.

Speckled Woods

2011-06-05T17:25:00.002+01:00

The most common butterfly in our garden is the Speckled Wood. It happily plays around both front and back gardens and can be seen for much of the year.

Baby Great Tit

2011-06-04T20:47:00.000+01:00

The baby Great Tits have just flown their nest and this one was sitting in my Cox Orange Pippin. Mummy (or Daddy) was perched nearby cheeping - obviously telling the little one not to move while the big scary monster pointed a camera at it!

Catching up with some flower news

2011-06-04T08:53:00.000+01:00

Last Winter's snow may have looked very pretty but it had a fairly devastating effect on my garden plants. I lost all my Cordylines, my Hebes, a Clematis, and a host of other plants. The two most unfortunate losses were the Fuchsia which provided much of the front hedge, and one of my favourite plants, the Solanum which hid the corner of the shed from view. However, there is always a bright side in any garden and this year has been exceptional for a few plants.

The Clematis montana was a huge mass of flowers - at least twelve feet high and sixteen feet across.

The Viburnum plicatum was a mass of flowers and will be covered in berries in the Autumn.

Similarly the Ceanothus thyrsiflorus 'Skylark' is covered in flowers. As always it attracts a host of bees.

A few years ago I began to grow a natural hedge with native British species in it and for the last couple of years it has been excellent. One disappointment was that my rose hadn't flowered in it. On 31st May that was put to rights and it has produced a few flowers now - much to the delight of the bumble bees.

The annuals, such as these Petunias, are looking good.

And Iris 'Victoria Falls' is splendid.

The yellow Iris Helen gave me have thrived in the marshy area and are making a good display.

Snow

2010-12-20T17:03:00.000Z

And there has to be a Robin when there is snow.

And snow there certainly is!!!

This follows weeks of heavy frost.

Long-tailed Tits

2010-12-06T13:44:00.000Z

On an exceptionally frosty morning a flock of Long-tailed Tits passed through the garden. This is the first time we have seen them here.

The dark (and dirty windows!) reduced the quality of the photos.

Sparrowhawk

2010-09-26T13:34:00.000+01:00

This is the second time in recent weeks that a Sparrowhawk has caught a pigeon and plucked it on our lawn leaving piles of feathers to be collected up.

An August visitor

2010-08-14T11:53:00.002+01:00

I had a pair of Southern Hawkers in the garden on 6th August. One of them wouldn't stay still at all but fortunately the other stopped - very briefly - for me.

Moths from a moth night

2010-07-30T15:01:00.027+01:00

These moths were taken in my moth trap on the night of 26th / 27th June.

Buff Ermine

Dark Arches

Double Square Spot

Dusky Brocade

Flame

Garden Carpet

Gothic

Grey Chi

Heart and Dart

Hebrew Character

Ingrailed clay

Map-winged Swift

Marbled Beauty

Mottled Beauty

Riband Wave

The Uncertain

Willow Beauty

2 spot variant

2010-07-29T14:56:00.001+01:00

Tbhis ladybird in the garden is a variant of the Two-spot - Adalia 2-punctata f. annulata.

Lilies - June and July

2010-07-28T14:44:00.001+01:00

Chinese Balloon Flower

2010-07-28T07:36:00.000+01:00

Opening

Open!

Lesser Yellow Underwing

2010-07-27T13:36:00.000+01:00

The Lesser Yellow Underwing is a very common species in our garden. This one took refuge in the shed. While I was rescuing it I decided to try to get a picture or two of its colourful hindwings.

Annuals

2010-06-15T15:32:00.000+01:00

Some of the annuals currently flowering in the garden.

Lobelia

Mimulus.

Petunia ?

Cosmos ?

Marigolds

Hairy Bittercress

2010-04-16T15:35:00.000+01:00

Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) is a common weed of gardens, greenhouses, paths, railways and waste ground. It is a plant ideally constituted to be a weed - it likes disturbed ground and bare soil; it can grow from seed to a plant shedding seeds within three weeks; it has pods that explode sending the seeds a distance from the plant; and the seeds can remain viable within the soil for at least ten years.

I wonder how many gardening years of work are spent getting Hairy Bittercress out of our gardens?

Early April

2010-04-13T16:34:00.000+01:00

Some early April sights:-

Lesser Celandine - a garden variety.

Scilla.

Violets

Cowslips

Weeping Willow

Mount Hood Daffodil

Frogspawn appeared on 9th April.

The First Crocus

2010-02-24T17:40:00.000Z

The first Crocus of the year opened today - 24th February.

The garden is full of ornaments and silly little things but they are so spread out and hidden that hopefully they don't overpower the plants and wildlife.

The Snopwdrops are reaching their peak but the snowflakes are still falling...

The Fieldfare

2010-02-14T15:22:00.000Z

Mid-February and the fieldfare is still around eating our apples. I wonder if he has lost his flock?

Fieldfares and Redwings

2010-01-18T11:30:00.000Z

I cannot believe how long it is since I wrote a post on this blog but the only thing of note has been the snow this January and the number of bird species it has brought in.

All the usual birds were around and in addition there have been three new species for The Willows - Pied Wagtail; Fieldfare and Redwing. The Fieldfares stayed on after the snow had melted.

Grey Squirrel

2009-10-29T20:45:00.002Z

One of my birthday books was 'The Mammals of Cheshire'. For the last couple of weeks a Grey Squirrel has turned up for its peanuts to keep us amused though it is not recorded in this 2km square – I must send a record in.

Wood Pigeon

2009-10-24T06:18:00.001+01:00

Plump enough for a pie. (Only kidding!)

Some October Flowers and Foliage

2009-10-21T06:09:00.006+01:00

Virginia Creeper and Ivy

Fremontodendron

Clematis

St Lucie Cherry

Primroses and Primulas

Beech leaves

Fuchsia

Geranium (or Pelargonium - I never know the difference!)

Pansy

Rhus

Pampas Grass

Late September

2009-09-29T08:17:00.007+01:00

We have had some lovely Sweet Peas this year.

Herb Robert is a weed and a bit of a nuisance but there is no denying it is pretty.

An unidentified shrub.

Rudbeckia in flower.

Visits from a young Greenfinch.

The Front Hedge

2009-09-15T05:42:00.005+01:00

The front hedge looked lovely but had got totally out of hand. At 12 to 14 feet tall it was completely unmanageable.

So we have had it cut back to 8 feet tall. Still a major task to keep it in order but any lower and the birds might have deserted it. Lets just hope all the bare bits grow back out again.

11th September - some flowers

2009-09-15T05:32:00.004+01:00

Some of the flowers still blooming in the garden:-

Solanum

Rudbeckia

Miniature Rose

Mullein.

Michaelmas Daisies.

And the Snowberry is is berry.

Kaffir Lilies

2009-09-11T17:47:00.004+01:00

A few years ago we bought a tiny pot of Kaffir Lily (Schizostylis coccinea) bulbs from a charity stall in Royden Park. Now we have them in three parts of the garden and, I think, their ‘children’ have travelled to Exeter as well. These are a few of today’s photos of these beautiful plants.

A Catch-up

2009-08-28T13:03:00.007+01:00

This is a catch-up posting on some of the things in the garden earlier in August. Sensibly, most of the insects have stayed hidden from the cold, damp breezy yuck that is our British August.

Lily

Freesia

Lilies

Chinese Balloon Flower

One exception to the insect dearth has been the large number of wasps and honey bees. The former is nothing unusual as we do have years of plenty every now and then. But Honey Bees have become so rare around here now as to be noticeable. This year they have flocked to the Buddleia and the Marjoram; I wonder if someone locally has a hive?

This is the hoverfly Volucella pellucens. The second photo shows it hovering.

“Look out! There’s a cat about.

Goldfinches on the niger seed feeder. (Taken through the window – hence the haziness.)

Sorry Helen, haven’t had time to check which grass this is. Perhaps you know off hand but if not I’ll probably post a comment with its name at some stage.

A frog in one of the ponds.

I took a lot more flower photos later in the month so I’ll post them another day.

Back in the Garden

2009-08-02T08:21:00.011+01:00

I left home on 1st May and returned on 28th July. Constant rainfall and other commitments meant it was 30th July before I got out into the garden. In just three months it has almost gone wild. The wild flower border seems to have moved from the back garden to the front!

One of the wild flowers that has come up in the normal borders is Knapweed. I have never managed to grow it in the wild flower garden and now it pops up in among the garden flowers. At least it is one of the more welcome ‘weeds’.

Teasel also crop up in some unexpected places when the Goldfinches don’t manage to eat all the seeds. But, like the Knapweed, they are welcome invaders providing food for insects as well as birds.

The Japanese Anemones are reliable and lengthy flowerers.

A Speckled Wood and a Large White were the first butterflies I saw during the brief patch of sunshine.

Field Scabious or Pin-cushion Flower is one of my favourite wild flowers in the garden. I bought some this year and they seem to have done well.

Jo got some red Geraniums for the kitchen window box and they have done really well.

The Grass Garden is buried in Nettles, Willowherbs, Welsh Poppies and Self-heal. Weeding it and cutting back the hedges around it will be one of my first priorities.

There are lots of yellow Welsh Poppies around the garden and some orange Californian Poppies. I love their tissue paper petals.

Mallow petals also have that thin papery appearance.

Most of the lilies are over but this one was only planted this year and has flowered later than the others.

I haven’t had much luck keeping Dahlias from one year rto the next but I hope I succeed with this one which was planted earlier this year.

This is another wild flower I planted - Mullein.

The Queen Elizabeth Rose has done well despite the lack of fertilizer.

The mice dug up most of the Freesia bulbs this Spring but this is one they missed.

This beautiful Calla Lily seems to have managed well despite the three months of neglect. Jo and Richard did some watering of the garden when I first went away but God (or Darwin – or both) took over the job after a while and has kept it up ever since.

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary..

2009-07-08T04:49:00.002+01:00

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary,
How does your Garden Grow?

Even though I have been away from Pensby since 1st May the garden has continued to grow apace and in particular I have reports of the dreaded Bindweed trying to take over large sections of it. According to Jo all the roses are now out. It will be a few more weeks before I get home but once I do you can expect some regular - and excited - blogging on this Pensby Blog.

25th April 2009

2009-04-26T18:05:00.004+01:00

Some recent garden events:-

A couple of Fantails were added to the fishpond.

One of my favourite flowers is the Welsh Poppy. It flowers almost all year round and is beautiful, easy to grow and thrives in most soils and conditions. What more could one ask of a plant.

I like the fact that my hedge of native species has space beneath it for wild flowers. In this case some Cowslips and Cuckoo Pint. Please note that the rusty spade is ornamental – I don’t really treat my garden tools that badly!

This Cuckoo Pint came from Helen and Ian last year. It has three flowers on it. My original Cuckoo Pint – of which there are about six enormous plants have yet again failed to flower. I’ll give them one more year and then take them up.

The Butterfly House

2009-04-22T06:32:00.010+01:00

I went to Chester Zoo on Monday and spent Tuesday in bed recovering from the effort – but it was worth it. I took 763 photos so I have a little bit of sorting and editing to do! Since my last visit the zoo has added a Butterfly House and being a butterfly addict I spent a while in there, walking around with a butterfly on my cap. It liked the pale colour and every time it left it, or another, landed there again. Just about everybody passing through managed to tell me about it.

It’s obviously something the butterfly house is used to – no sooner had this young girl arrived than one landed on her cap.

Fortunately they have a mirror by the door so you can check you aren’t taking any out with you.

This is a Blue Morpho (Morpho melenaus). There were a lot of them about.

This is an Owl Butterfly (Caligo idomeneus ) so-called for its large eyespot on the underside of the hind wings.

The Owl Butterfly rests with its wings closed so you have to be quick to get a photo of its upperside as it lands or takes off.

This is a Citrus Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus).

This is a Papilio species - I haven't worked out which one yet.

A White Tree Nymph (Idea Leoconue ).

A Heliconius species.

This is the Great Eggfly ( Hypolimnas bolina ).

This is a Great Orange Tip (Hebomoia glaucippe).

There were not that many different species compared to a normal butterfly house but that may be partly due to it being early in the season and the fact that the house has only recently opened. What they lacked in variety they certainly made up for in numbers.

Water Features

2009-04-20T22:08:00.006+01:00

Apart from the various ponds we have two water features in the garden. This is one I made. It makes a pleasant pouring noise as the water runs from the jug into the stones and down inside the pot from whence it is pumped back up again.

We fell for, and bought, this water feature a few months before we bought the house and the garden centre stored it for us.

This water feature was used by a pair of frogs to lay spawn earlier in the year.

There are now a lot of active tadpoles in it.

The other day there was a Common Frog in there – probably displaying his cannibalistic tendencies. I scooped him out. Can you guess what he’s looking at?

Another frog – but not a real one!

Yesterday a Smooth Newt was in there – no doubt also feeding on the poor tadpoles.

This brave tadpole was playing with fire!

Sunday 19th April 2009

2009-04-19T22:18:00.002+01:00

A hot and sunny day in the garden brought a wide variety of insects including dancing Speckled Wood butterflies and Large and Green-veined Whites. This 14 spot Ladybird (Propylea 14-punctata) was on the native species hedge.

A Smooth Newt was fishing for tadpoles in the water feature.

An Ichneumon Fly

2009-04-19T07:31:00.003+01:00

There doesn’t seem to be a layman’s guide to the Ichneumon Flies of the British Isles, of which there are over 2,000 species, but this may well be Ichneumon suspiciosus. This group of parasitic insects is abundant on hedgerows and other dense vegetation where they hunt about for the eggs of other invertebrates to parasitise. Adult ichneumons are long and slender with very long antennae of sixteen segments.

I chased it around the garden for a while only to find it (or another of the same species) come into the conservatory a few hours later.

The Tulips are at their peak. They're nearly as red as Jo's socks!

Sparrowhawk

2009-04-18T07:24:00.003+01:00

On Thursday morning I was having a quiet look out of the front landing window when a Sparrowhawk landed right in front of me on the top of the hedge. Much squeaking and chirping from the Sparrows suggested he had lived up to his name and targeted one of them. I dived into the bedroom and told Jo but when I came out and grabbed my camera it seemed to have gone. Nevertheless the sparrows were all circling overhead and making a terrible row. In the end we concluded it had left and I went down to the front door to check. As I opened the door it burst from the side hedge and went off down the road.

A great experience and yet a really frustrating one. Of all the birds I have seen there are few of which I have no photo – the Sparrowhawk remains one of them!

The Easter weekend

2009-04-13T06:23:00.002+01:00

On Easter Saturday we had our first butterfly of the year in the garden – a comma. On Sunday we had a Speckled Wood and a White.

On Saturday – as previously mentioned, we had out first Siskin and on Sunday we had quite a few of them – all female this time. The niger seed also attracted the pair of Goldfinches and some House Sparrows.

Usually all our frogs go into hiding when Helen visits but this week-end one was kind enough to say hello on Sunday.

There are now quite a few flowers out but the Daffodils and Tulips still provide the high-spots of colour.

A new visitor

2009-04-11T21:37:00.004+01:00

We had a new visitor to our garden today. A male Siskin. It is the first time since we came here nearly five years ago that we have had a Siskin.

The Cherry in the front is at its peak. The first of the Bluebells also flowered in the sunshine and new Tulips are coming out every day.

Some new plants

2009-04-11T19:25:00.004+01:00

This box arrived a couple of days ago from Flora Select. It contains some of the plants on my 'wanted' list - Perovskia 'Little Spire', Pennisetum alopecuroides and Schizostylis "Fenland Daybreak".

Examples of these three can be seen in the side column. I also got some Liriope muscari - Lilyturf. Hopefully I shall photos of my own ones before too long.

I can thoroughly recommend Flora Select. They are not cheap but no dearer than a garden centre and the speed, packaging, delivery instructions, size and quality of the plants are all excellent.

Flowers - January to March

2009-04-10T09:19:00.004+01:00

I’ve had an idea. Oh dear, stand back everyone. He’s thinking again.

In January I started keeping a note of the flowers that were in bloom each month. It won’t be complete this year because I shall be away for much of May and June but it will be an interesting exercise. I should also put the major seedheads and foliage when they are at their best.

Today, while thinking, I came up with the idea of doing composite photos of each months flowers and blogging them.

January was pretty easy –

And here is February:-

March had a lot more flowers out:-

I should have named the photos but I shall do that another time and perhaps come back and replace the pictures.

Cool cafe

2009-04-08T16:53:00.005+01:00

Thinks –‘This place looks pretty cool’.

“Welcome.”

“After you, Dear.”

“Thank you, Dear.”

“Now it’s your turn.”

“I reckon we’re going to make a very smart couple at the altar.”

“Never mind the wedding plans dig in while we’ve got the chance.”

“OK but I’ve got to make sure I can still fit into my feathers, Dear.”

Frog spawn

2009-04-08T06:51:00.002+01:00

As I have mentioned before, it has been a most strange year as regards frog spawn. We saw the frogs mating a month ago but there was not sign of spawn. The suddenly, a couple of days ago some spawn appeared. Now there is even spawn in one of the water features.

Blue Tits

2009-04-06T19:11:00.003+01:00

The Blue Tits are bringing materials to nest in the nest box on one of our Ash trees. They use it every year.

Some early April flowers

2009-04-06T06:02:00.008+01:00

Cowslips

I am fortunate enough to be in England now that April’s here.

Sweet Violet

O, to be in England
Now that April 's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England—now!
Robert Browning – “Home Thoughts, from Abroad”

Narcissi

Veronica (Speedwell)

Wood Forget-me-nots

Maple foliage (Acer palmatum ‘Orange Dream’)

A marvellous Tulip

And not forgetting a liverwort – Marchantia polymorpha

Pensby flowers

2009-03-31T18:56:00.004+01:00

Some of the flowers currently enlivening the garden.

And is there a more fresh green that that of newly erupting weeping willow leaves.

Liverpool Cathedral

2009-03-25T00:40:00.006Z

Liverpool has two cathedrals – the Anglican one and the Metropolitan (Roman Catholic) cathedral. Both were built in the twentieth century. The Metropolitan Cathedral is a 1960s/1970s piece of mo0dern art and is a fascinating piece of architecture – though not exactly my idea of a place of worship.

The Anglican Cathedral, built between 1904 and 1978, is described as "an awesome, spectacular, beautiful building and yet also a vibrant living church attempting to live the Christian Gospel; a community of daily prayer and worship; a home to great art and music with our 60 boy and girl choristers and now with exciting, new visitor facilities." I’m not sure that I agree.

Cathedrals of enormous proportions that were built in the twelfth century are awesome. How people with such comparatively primitive measuring facilities and scaffolding and so on could erect such magnificent buildings is truly awe-inspiring. That such a building could be erected in the twentieth century is much less so. It is too gloomy and chunky to merit the description beautiful – even the sandstone carved figures lack any elegance. The windows are mostly uninspiring though there are one or two that I really like.

One question I have never managed to solve is why the creators of major pieces of architecture – such as the cathedral – end up hiding some of the things they have created. For example, the window at the East end is partially hidden by the altar. Why do they do that?

Garden Centres and their Shops

2009-03-24T05:51:00.011Z

On Saturday Jo and I went to the nurseries on the top Chester road. We began at Burton nurseries which has a retail shopping mall in it. There is a brilliant rock, mineral and crystal shop there. We spent ages choosing a present for a friend, some stones for Jo, a Mother’s day present for Jo, and a bracelet for me. I thought I might be able to magnetise the bracelet (haemetite) as it is supposed to be good for pain relief. I’m not sure whether the one I bought is pure haemetite (which cannot be magnetised) or is actually ferrite (which most alleged haemetite jewellery is – and can be magnetised) but it looks OK and only cost £4.60 – less than a packet of pain killers!

If you have £3,000 to spare you can get this pair of amethyst geodes.

Then we went into Gordale and had a coffee and a cake before choosing lots of Dahlias and other late flowering corms and bulbs and getting some vegetable and sweet pea seeds.

After that we went to the pet shop in the water garden centre. We were after a very uninspiring cat litter scoop but they were too expensive. I’m sure the local pet shop will have one at half the price. I don’t mind spending money but I do object to wasting it. The pet shop did provide a brilliant number of marine fish and corals to be photographed and I spent ages doing so before we looked at tanks and I dreamed about the idea of owning an aquaria again.

Unfortunately many of the fish were not labelled but some I recognised or could identify from the Internet.

Gold Stripe Maroon Clownfish

Green-spotted Mandarin Goby

Copper-banded Butterfly Fish

Clown Anglerfish

Dogface Pufferfish

A trip to Liverpool

2009-03-21T05:43:00.009Z

My first photo of Friday was taken in the early hours when a trip to the loo found this girl already occupying the bathroom. I evicted her on the basis that my need was greater than hers!

Around 11 o’clock I had a coffee break.

Jo’s clients were only booked in for the morning so when she came home I had a cup of tea on the patio with her and a few House Sparrows.

Jo then drove Richard over to Liverpool and I went along for the ride. I don’t know why we say ‘over’ to Liverpool when we actually go ‘under’ to Liverpool through the Mersey Tunnel.

The light at the end of the tunnel!

This statue of a man with a hod is not far from the entrance to the New Tunnel but what it commemorates I have yet to find out. It has only been erected in recent years and my trips to Liverpool have been very few and far between.

Nowadays it is rare to see roads with cobble stones or sets as most of them have long since been covered with tarmac but occasionally one finds a bit of unused roadway that still has these square stone sets.

I haven’t been along Edge Lane for years and I was delighted to see all these painted houses when we drove down there today. The houses have been compulsorily purchased for road widening at the end of the M62 motorway and as part of the Capital of Culture works last year all the boarding up was painted.

In the Garden

2009-03-17T05:02:00.006Z

It was a beautiful sunny day on Monday and I spent much of the morning in the garden doing some of the first serious tidying up and weeding of the year. Although there are a couple of pairs of frogs in amplexus in the ponds there is no sign of frogspawn yet. Everyone else is reaching the tadpole stage so it’s not very promising for this year. I also came across a lone male – presumably looking for a female.

I found my first male Smooth Newt of the year – you can tell his sex by the bright belly and the crest down his back though the latter tends to lie flat and be very hard to see when he’s out of the water. He wasn’t overly impressed at being placed in such an undignified position to be photographed but he didn’t squirm. Usually it’s not possible to get a photo of the underside because they just turn themselves right way up since you can’t hold them tightly for fear of hurting them.

My favourite find of the day was a couple of catkins in the hedge. There is something really delightful about having grown a hedge from seeds and seedlings and reaching the stage where it provides flowers and seeds. I think these are the male catkins of the Sallow or Goat Willow whose female catkins are the well-known pussy willow.

Over one of the ponds there hang the dead stalks of a sedge which make an attractive photograph reflected on the water’s surface.

The daffodils, large and small varieties, are at their peak at the moment but there are none of the white Narcissi out yet.

The first of the Tulips have opened and the Green Hellebores and Christmas Roses are still flowering well.

In the front garden we get mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) – the wild form of the Cultivated Mushroom every year under the hedge. The fruiting bodies always appear the third week in March and the first time I found them I thought initially they were St George’s Mushrooms which are said to appear on 23rd April every year.

Sunrise in Gills Lane

2009-03-15T08:13:00.005Z

It was bitterly cold when I went out this morning for a very early stroll to watch the sun rise down Gills Lane.

Well worth the effort, I felt.

The warm colours of the early morning sun made the hedgerows really golden and shiny.

Among the birds seen were a few Magpies and a lone Curlew that bubbled away as it rose in the air

This Wren was wonderfully camouflaged in the bushes but gave itself away by its loud and cheerful song.

Irby to Pensby

2009-03-13T16:51:00.004Z

I walked the footpath from Irby to Pensby today. It was very muddy!

Crocuses

2009-03-13T16:21:00.002Z

or is it Croci?

Whatever the plural of crocus may be, these were outside the library in the sun on Thursday 12th March.

Of Frogs and Birds

2009-03-10T12:53:00.007Z

Some of the things that have made the garden interesting this last week or so:-

The Sparrows are chirruping away throughout the day; suggesting they are ready to start nest building.

Meanwhile this bird was singing away for most of the morning of 7th March but I could not get a decent enough photo to identify it.

Cleaning out the ponds a bit on 8th March I came across plenty of newts, including this baby one.

There were also a few pairs of mating frogs. I tried to disturb those as little as possible but this pair briefly got caught in the net.

On 9th March a storm broke down all the Pampas Grass. It will soon be pinched by the birds for nesting material.

Thingwall

2009-02-24T18:29:00.010Z

Today I abandoned my decorating plans for a while; moving furniture yesterday and a walk today have resurrected my heart problems so common sense dictates I leave it for a day or two to see how I get on. The walk – from Thingwall Nurseries along to Barnston Dale and then back and home - took me along a footpath I hadn’t been on before. It was extremely enjoyable despite having to take it at about 1 mph.

The lane to the Nursery has a hedgerow with a couple of dead trees in it. I love the appearance of dead wood and it always pleases me when people don’t tidy it up. It is an important habitat for insects and fungi.

This is Lower Thingwall Lane, Thingwall. This beautiful barn conversion is for sale... Pity I haven’t got £500,000 to spare. Mind you – the details don’t point out that it backs on to the local pub.

“A local landmark this beautifully converted Barn originates from the 17th/18th century, being part of the farm tending the land north of the property of Lower Thingwall Lane which was the old Liverpool Road. The accommodation is outstanding with a magnificent dining reception hall with further seating area and galleried landing, fabulous lounge/sitting room with cast iron range, farmhouse dining kitchen complete with Aga, pantry and utility. The accommodation is versatile for family living and also offers a ground floor shower room, further reception room &/or ground floor sixth bedroom, five bedrooms and bathroom to the first floor. There are impressive grounds to the property with car parking, courtyard with ornamental pond, bread oven, seating and barbeque area, large canopied porch, superb gardens with arbor and generous rural land plot to the lower garden with gated access, stable/workshop.”

The fields off the lane had plenty of horses and ponies in them.

The lane turns into a bridleway and this will be a delightful short walk during the summer.

There were plenty of birds in the lane – Great Tits singing loudly; a huge flock of small birds that I couldn’t identify against the light, twittering away; goldfinches; a Magpie squawking; Wood Pigeons flapping loudly and so on.

A Grey Squirrel took a good look at me for a few minutes.

Snowdrops

2009-02-19T16:31:00.001Z

The Snowdrops are reaching their peak.

Saturday 14th February 2009

2009-02-15T06:57:00.008Z

Jo and I went to Hoylake tp take a look around the auction house and charity shops. A few books and some clothes made the charity shop visits well worth while.

The street furniture in Hoylake has a rope theme, presumably to reflect its seaside nature.

When I saw the Town Hall Clock I was reminded of a poem but I cannot find it on the Internet. I did find a couple of poems with Town Hall Clock references but neither was the one that is hovering around in the back of my mind.

People who gaze at the town-hall clock,
Waiting to hear the hour.
HAROLD MONRO ("Strange Meetings")

The clock in the Town Hall is ticking away
The seconds of our lives every hour of the day
And even for the babe in the pram time it doesn't wait;
On the young and the old there is a use by date.

The feeble old fellow to time losing hair
Of his own mortality he is aware
A good innings one might say he did enjoy
Still he'd love one more chance to live as a boy.

Of great feats of bravery we often hear
But the bravest the fear of death even do fear
And the reaper the one who has the final say
The wealthy and poor will make equal one day.

The clock in the Town Hall it keeps ticking on
And with each tick one more second of our lives gone
And the reaper whose praises none does wish to sing
Will one day take care of the emperor and king.

FRANCIS DUGGAN ("The Clock in the Town Hall")

This little fellow was waiting patiently outside a shop.

We had a coffee at Wetherspoons but also bought a cake to take back for a coffee and crossword at home. I had a coffee meringue. Yum. A great end to the morning.

Friday 6th February 2009

2009-02-06T11:23:00.006Z

This ice pattern on one of the ponds was fantastic. The photo does not do it justice. I couldn’t quite get the angle / light right. The straight lines are also ice coming out from the edge of the pond towards the middle. A very strange formation.

I was quite amazed to find a nest in the Willow tree this morning. It is obviously last year’s – probably a Blackbird’s. I look up into the willow all summer long seeking caterpillars and yet I’d never spotted the nest. Although the leaves were late in falling – mid-November- I’ve had eight weeks in which to observe the nest in the bare branches and yet I’ve missed it. It makes me wonder just how much more wildlife is around that I have missed.

Tuesday 3rd February 2009

2009-02-03T16:30:00.002Z

It continued to snow overnight but the sun shone all day so much of it melted away.

Monday 2nd February 2009

2009-02-02T12:09:00.006Z

Most of the country has been paralysed by snow. We had a mere half inch of the stuff but at least it gave me an excuse to take photos. (Just as if I had ever needed an excuse to get the camera out.)

First it was trip around the garden.

Then along the road to Marlfield Lane.

And on the way back from the shops I came through Pensby’s one piece of woodland on Fishers Lane where I discovered even half an inch of snow and leaf mould can hide a six inch deep muddy puddle. Feet and boots are now drying out...

Sunday 1st February 2009

2009-02-02T11:59:00.002Z

The Green Hellebore (Helleborus viridis) was in flower today.

Red sky in the morning

2009-01-27T08:58:00.008Z

It was obvious over the top of the doctor's surgery that there was a good sunrise this morning.

It then becomes a race against time to get around to Gills Lane and Marlfield Lane for a photo before the sky changes too much.

This morning I managed it.

22nd January 2009

2009-01-26T19:59:00.004Z

On sunny days like today I often go to the Co-op taking a detour along Marlfield Lane or Gills Lane to capture a hint of countryside.

The field alongside Marlfield Lane had a flock of Rooks and a lone Raven.

The Chestnut Centre

2008-12-31T04:13:00.002Z

Helen and Ian are staying at The Willows with us at the moment and on Tuesday Ian drove us down to Derbyshire where we met up with Bryony and Mark at the Chestnut Centre.

Fallow Deer

Snowy Owl

Harvest Mouse

Giant Otter

I am only showing a few photos here but unlike Helen and Mark, who can content themselves with a couple of photos, I feel the need to show loads of photos so I've also added this webpage. There are lots of photos on it so it may not load very quickly.

A walk in the sun

2008-12-18T17:27:00.004Z

The holly next door in the Nursing Home grounds has plenty of berries. I’m always amazed they don’t get pinched for someone’s Christmas decorations!

Half a mile (perhaps less) from our house is a delightful little cul-de-sac – and unsurfaced lane with lovely views over to Barnston Dale.

The last couple of days have had a watery sun after a lot of rain.

The hips were in the hedgerow.

This Birch tree came down in the storm a couple of years back and is gently rotting in the field.

I love seeing pieces of farm equipment in a field. They show the field is still used, still alive....

Lichens

2008-12-13T20:02:00.002Z

It doesn't matter what the weather is like there are always attractive lichens to be found on the tree trunks in Heswall.

Frost and fog

2008-11-29T19:46:00.003Z

The weather has suddenly turned after weeks of drizzly unpleasantness to thick mist and frost. I just loved the way the frost and ice sat on the grasses and trees all day.

Autumn

2008-11-14T19:06:00.001Z

The weather really hasn’t been conducive to taking many photos so far this autumn. That’s my excuse for not posting on this blog for ages. However, it’s a pretty feeble excuse when you visit the BBC’s liverpool images site. How about this brilliant photo of Thurstaston from Patrick Dwyer, for example. I must get out more.

First frost

2008-10-31T06:57:00.002Z

We had the first frost of the autumn overnight. Sorry there's no photo but it's cold out there, I'm only half awake and the windows are steamed up (we don't have double glazing). At least we were not buried under hail and water as poor Ottery St Mary was the night before.

Cactus

2008-10-30T05:10:00.003Z

On the whole it's been a wet and windy and generally unpleasant month. So I shall content myself with showing a bit of the indoor plant life - one of my cacti in flower.

Birch Shieldbug

2008-10-09T17:04:00.003+01:00

This is a Birch Shieldbug (Elasmostethus interstinctus). The adult is like a smaller version of the Hawthorn Shield Bug. It is found throughout the British Isles in mixed woodlands with Birch and it is generally common where it occurs. It hibernates as an adult and eggs are laid in May and June. The new generation becomes adult from August onwards. The egg is pointed and laid in batches of up to 24, usually on birches with catkins. Aspen and Hazel may also be used.

Because it hibernates it often comes into the house at this time of year. I had one arrive in Brackenside one October and this one came into The Willows today.

Perhaps rather cruel but I put this one on its back for a minute to show you the underside. It soon righted itself without my aid.

Pampas Grass

2008-10-09T16:52:00.004+01:00

Although the geese did not presage the first frost a hailstorm followed the same day! The frost has yet to start. Unfortunately we had plenty of wind and the newly opened Pampas Grass is already leaning at a crazy angle. For some reason, our garden catches the very worst of the wind and the Pampas Grass does not last long before breaking, at which stage it gets brought indoors as a decoration.

I'm sure people get tired of seeing my Kaffir Lilies but I just love them. Unfortunately they cannot be seen from the house windows so I'm starting a second patch this year. This is the time of year when one doesn't get into the garden much so having some close to the windows will be a real bonus.

2nd October 2008

2008-10-02T06:51:00.000+01:00

I’ve just heard the geese go overhead in the rain. Their arrival around here usually presages the first frosts. Although that seems unlikely in the current wind and downpour it reminds me that I must bring any non-hardy plants indoors. We seem to have gone from summer to winter overnight – what happened to all the mists and mellow fruitfulness?

Rudbeckia

2008-09-28T23:03:00.001+01:00

I love Rudbeckia. They are one of four genera in the Asteraceae family that are known as coneflowers. The flowers are produced in daisy-like inflorescences, with yellow or orange florets arranged in a prominent, cone-shaped head; "cone-shaped" because the ray florets tend to point out and down (are decumbent) as the flower head opens. Rudbeckia species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Cabbage Moth and Dot Moth both of which have been found in my garden. I think this Rudbeckia is the species R. hirta also known as Black-eyed Susan.

Kaffir Lilies and what?

2008-09-28T20:55:00.002+01:00

I do like Kaffir Lilies (Schizostylis coccinea). I got these from a charity stall at Royden Park a couple of years ago so I don’t know which particular cultivar they are.

I have a couple of clumps of this plant in my garden but I don’t know what it is! The plant is between two and three feet tall with toothed lanceolate leaves and masses of small, bell-like purple flowers. Any clues would be welcome.

Pond Three

2008-09-27T07:40:00.003+01:00

Work in progress...

This last week having been warm and mostly sunny, I have done a great deal in the garden. Having been away a lot this year there was much tidying and pruning to do. I also tackled – for the third time – the relaying of pond number 3. It has never been as satisfactory as the other two, always seeming to fall well below the level of the edging. I took up the waterfall and discovered the reason – the edging had got bent over as I laid the waterfall last time and was leaking out underneath. This situation was exacerbated by evaporation when I ran the waterfall.

Job done....

In the process of draining the pond I had to ,move six fully grown frogs from it into Pond 2 and another one hopped off under the fence into next door. One of the frogs had been issuing its purring croak for some days before I tackled the pond and I was pleased to hear that it was back in the newly filled pond, purring away, at the end of the exercise. Previously I have only heard frogs calling in Spring. I wonder if calling in autumn is unusual?

Eupeodes luniger

2008-09-27T07:38:00.002+01:00

This is the brightly coloured hoverfly Eupeodes luniger. Like nearly all hoverflies it has no common English name. I suspect that if Hoverflies were to be given them there would be a lot more interest in this group of colourful flies.

The Glistening Ink-cap

2008-09-27T06:58:00.001+01:00

This toadstool was at the side of one of the paths by the pond the other day. It is Coprinus micaceus or the Glistening Ink-cap but because it is an older specimen it lacks the glistening sugary grains that cover its surface when young. Unusually, it was alone. Normally all Coprinus species can be found in clumps. Hopefully I will have a clump there in a year or two.

The mature, blackening caps of a number of Coprinus species were once boiled to make ink.

Caterpillars

2008-09-27T06:44:00.003+01:00

This ‘caterpillar’ had successfully defoliated two branches of my Super Star rose the other day. At first I thought it was a moth caterpillar but upon closer examination I decided it was a sawfly larva. But I cannot tell which one. The popular Rose-eating sawflies (Arge pagana, Arge rosae, and Arge ochropus) have larvae with black spots while one which has this colouring (Endelomyia aethiops) only grazes on the surface of the leaves and is slightly pear-shaped being thinner in the tail (known appropriately as the Rose Slug). So, all I can conclude is that this chap was a) a sawfly larva (probably) and b) unwelcome!

This is definitely a moth caterpillar! It will grow up to be a Bright-line Brown-eye Moth. I think it was feeding on the Viburnum which I was pruning when I found it swimming in the fish pond with some of the fallen leaves. It departed unharmed back into the shrubbery after I had photographed it.

Shaggy Bracket

2008-09-22T07:36:00.002+01:00

I would like to keep this blog restricted to my Pensby garden but then where would I post pictures like this - a Shaggy Bracket (Inonotus hispidus) found on an Ash tree around the corner, near the library?

Vicious beak!

2008-09-21T07:42:00.002+01:00

Found the remains of a Wood Pigeon's egg.

This chap was on a nearby aerial, looking suspiciously like the culprit.

I've never seen a Carrion Crow wiht such a vicious beak before!

Yellow Buddleia

2008-09-19T00:54:00.002+01:00

Apart from all my purple Buddleias I have a white cutting from Helen and at last my Yellow Buddleia cutting has flowered. This means I have all the forms of Buddleia that I've had in previous gardens. All the current ones are cutting from them - with the possible exception of the white one which may have scome from the caravan via Helen or may have originated in Formby.

Galerucella species

2008-09-18T20:33:00.001+01:00

This is a Galerucella species of leaf beetle. There are six species of these leaf beetles in Britain – all similar. This leaf-eating species has devastated my Guelder Rose in the hedge – almost defoliating it in places.

Orange Ladybird

2008-09-18T19:42:00.001+01:00

These are the larvae of the Orange Ladybird. The 22-spot Ladybird larva is similar but has no areas of white, larger black spots and shorter legs.

These are the pupae of the Orange Ladybird. Both larvae and pupae are to be found all over one of my Birch trees at the moment.

Seasons

2008-09-18T10:28:00.001+01:00

I’m not sure the garden knows what season it is at the moment. The Fuchsia which has been flowering since late spring is still going strong. The Cyclamen in the basket is also in full bloom.

Meanwhile the Cotoneaster is absolutely covered in berries and the poppies are in seed.

Calla

2008-09-17T19:20:00.001+01:00

A beautiful yellow Calla has been added to my Pensby garden – another gift from Helen. I still have a garden voucher from Bryony and Mark to spend and hopefully I’ll get a lift from Jo to a garden centre in the near future and add even more...

A Grass Garden

2008-09-17T19:08:00.006+01:00

Helen and Ian gave me an early birthday present on one of our visits to Otter Nurseries – two grasses (Carex Comans Red and Festuca Blue Fox) and an Agapanthus Tinkerbell. I treated myself to a Phormium Dark Delight. Helen and Ian also gave me two grasses of their own – Stipa tenuissima Cornwall Chillis and Pennesetum villosum Cream Falls.

Part of the front garden has been a bit of a mess for the past year so I have decided to turn it into a grass garden. It had a large Elder tree which was suckering and seeding everywhere so I cut it down a couple of years ago and replaced it with a Privet, a Willow and Buddleia. Alongside them were the main conifer hedge on one side and a huge Mock Orange and Cotoneaster on the other.

In between rainy spells this last few days I have dug over the patch and drastically pruned the Mock Orange, Cotoneaster and Hedge. I got rid of the elder seedlings, nettles, ivy and general weeds to create a space for the grasses. I’ve also included some divided grasses from the back garden such as Uncinia rubra and a bicolour Carex Evergold. I’ve also put in a Black Grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus), some Allium bulbs and some Kaffir Lilies. A Yucca, a Cordyline, and a Phormium Tricolor and a Bamboo (Fargesia Muielae Mae) complete the border for the moment. I have left most of the plants in their pots to avoid the problems of identifying what is grass and what is weed next spring and also to stop plants like the Bamboo spreading too far.

Plants I want

2008-09-09T07:26:00.002+01:00

Although I use this Blog for my trips up and down the country or around and about at home it was originally set up just to show the plants and wildlife in my garden. I have decided therefore to add a sidebar showing the plants I would like to add to the garden.

Bridgewater - Friday, 22nd August 2008

2008-08-23T06:22:00.006+01:00

We stopped for afternoon coffee in the Somerset town of Bridgewater which, upon its approach looked remarkably unprepossessing. This only went to show one should not judge a book by its cover.

A restored Victorian crane on the quayside.

I was especially taken with St Mary's Church, Robert Blake's statue, and the market's facade.

We did our second crossword of the day at the Old Vicarage cafe which incorporated a 14th century inn. The oldest room (14th century) had superb Tudor panelling and must have been very popular for functions. Just imagine, the Black Death was just beginning to make its rounds of Europe as this room was first used. The monarchs on the throne since it was built in the time of Edward III or Richard II have included Plantagenets / Angevins and all the Lancastrians, Yorkists, Tudors, Stuarts, Hanoverians, Saxe-Coburg Gotha and Windsors.

Detail of a building as we were on the road leaving Bridgewater.

Harvesting in Devon.... and so to Helen and Ian's.