16th August 2004

A Rare Sunny Day

What a wet summer it has been! The rainy days have been good for the garden though. This time last year, we were worrying about the plants drying up under the hot sun. This year, our only worry is if they will get enough sun. The plants don't seem quite as big as last year, especially the sunflowers. But there is still time for them to catch up.

Runner Bean Are Go

After a slow start, the runner beans have gone mad and taken over their canes. They were growing so fast that they tried to take over the rest of the garden, but they are being kept under control.

Will it be a bumper harvest this year?

The Runner Bean plants are full of scarlet red flowers, which means that hopefully they will soon be full of beans. The beans tasted so far have been delicious. Soon they will be on sale at the school so watch out for the notice about it.

Beans, beans and yet more beans

The world should not go short of beans this year, as there are plenty of them in Mr. S's garden. On the left, you can see some beans that 'E' bought in and planted (and Mr. S's beans in the background). Their flowers are on the right.

The Garden Olympics

At the moment in Athens, Greece, there are hundreds of people competing against each other, each following their Olympic motto to be 'Swifter, Higher, Stronger'. The garden seems to have it's own Olympic motto as many of the plants try to be 'Bigger, Taller, More Colourful' (I would also put 'Tastier' in as well, but you only see that at dinnertime). The sunflowers on the left are reaching up for the sky, trying to beat last years garden record. However, not to be out-done, the lettuces on the right have decided to flower and are also producing tall towers of greenness. Who will win? Who will get gold? Who will get silver? Don't forget about the beans though...

The Sweetcorn Will Not Be Left Behind

Other contenders for the 'Tallest' race include the sweetcorn. These plants like lots of sunshine and would have loved to have sunbathed all summer. However, they are still doing well and it looks as though some sweetcorn should be ready soon. Will they also get a medal?

Time to Harvest the Broad Beans

After a slow start, the Broad Beans did well this year. They produced lots of bean pods (above-left), each carrying at least two or three beans, who could be found nestling within their soft, furry pod-homes (above-right). Unfortunately, they are always ready in the school holidays. This meant that I had to make sure that they were eaten and not wasted. They tasted delicious!

Which Do You Prefer? White or Red?

The onions, whilst not quite as big as the ones you would find in your local shop, have done well. If we had thinned them out (taken some of the onions out earlier in the year to give the others more space) then they may have been bigger. Soon we will be harvesting these.

A tasty weed

This strawberry plant decided to grow on the edge of our vegetable garden by itself. It could be thought of as a weed if we didn't want it there and could take it out. But as it produces tasty fruits, we have decided to leave it alone and feast on strawberries instead.

The end of one plant, the beginning of another

The Honesty plants have finished and died, although their brown seed pods still tower in the garden. Meanwhile, the Hollyhocks are just coming into flower.

Mr. S's Favourite!

This is a plant that Mr. S. is always pleased to see in his garden. In fact, he likes them so much that I sometimes have to stop him from taking them away. If they had the chance, they would take over the garden. But it is not only Mr. S. who has his eyes on these...

Spot the visitor

A caterpiller has been found on one of the nasturtium leaves. As you can see, it has already had a meal. Very soon, there will be hundreds more. Do you remember what they did to the Nasturtiums last year? These caterpillars have big appetites. But they need to have big appetites if they are to turn in to Large White Butterflies.

A Royal Butterfly

The Buddleia bush has seen a constant stream of visitors over the past few weeks. Butterflies, Bees, Hoverflies and allsorts have flocked to drink the Buddleia nectar. One of the most striking visitors is the Peacock Butterfly, one of the 'Aristocrat' butterflies. Their caterpillars feed on Stinging Nettles, so think carefully before chopping down nettle patches.

Here For The Holidays

Another 'Aristocrat' butterfly is the Painted Lady. Each spring, this butterfly flies over 800 miles from south-west Europe and North Africa to get here, as our winters are too cold for it. It must be thirsty!

A War Veteran, Possibly?

Yet another 'Aristocrat' butterfly, the Red Admiral is another butterfly that travels over here each spring from the continent. This one looks as though it has been through the wars, as it looks quite battered. Like many of our own admirals, they often defend their own territories, so he has possibly been in one fight too many? Whilst its caterpillars like a feast of nettles, the adult butterfly will enjoy lots of nectar and even the odd rotting fruit or two.

Welcome to Garden Regis

With so many 'Aristocrat' butterflies visiting the garden, including the Comma butterfly (right), I almost felt like rolling out a red carpet. The Comma caterpillars feast on nettles and hides from birds by looking like a bird's dropping. Although the butterfly's wings look torn and battered, they're as they should be and help the butterfly to hide from it's enemies, including the birds.