My eye was caught this morning by our tiniest bird a goldcrest, he was hopping restlessly about in the pineapple broom. These tiny birds are easy to spot once you are aware of the restless way they move, and with binoculars this can easily be confirmed if you pick up the bright golden line on the top of their head. From the pineapple broom he flew to the old bent apple tree, where I lost sight of him.
The pineapple broom - Cytisus Battandieri, is an interesting shrub to have in the garden, it is now very tall. I was advised against buying it because they need shelter and are best grown against the wall of a house for protection. Mine forms part of a border and has conifers, one either side, each one grown and shaped around a seat.
I was lucky I saw this one rejected and looking very sad at the end of sale time, half out of its pot and laying on its side, totally dried out and surrounded by weeds. At the price it was a brilliant bargain and worth taking a chance on, so home it came to be stood in a bucket of water, after a few days the weeds were gently removed and it was planted in a large hole, well filled with home made compost and water. It slowly sank its roots down and grew used to being in the earth, decided it liked it and grew and flourished. Each year we are rewarded with soft grey/green leaves and amid them are cones of the brightest yellow flowers, which delightfully smell of pineapples, and in the summer and autumn the flowers attract scores of tiny black beetles, which is good in a wildlife garden.
Later in the day we saw a pair of greenfinches, these used to be a common bird in the garden, but not any more. We were also entertained by a pair of blackcaps, who looked as if they were seeking a nesting site.
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