Cyn's Nature Notes: A Summers Day in an English Garden

Friday, 8 August 2014

A Summers Day in an English Garden

Awoke to heavy pelting rain, drooping the slimmer branches, running off the leaves and pulling the petals from flowers. After it stopped I looked for signs of a fine day coming, but the sky was overcast and the distance looked misty. A short while later it began to rain, not the heavy pelting rain of earlier nor the soft misty Irish rain, but what I think of as English rain, heavier than a drizzle, but still a gentle rain that drops steadily and windlessly straight down, gently soaking everything.

Around lunchtime the rain ceased, the sky brightened and not too long after the sun shone and the sparkling rain drops on the grass dried up. Within a few minutes birds started to appear, first blackbirds, followed by robins, magpies, a thrush, a young green woodpecker and then two jays, one adult and one immature.

I also had a very good view of a delightful little wren, on the step the other side of the patio door, just two feet from my chair.

I haven't seen many squirrels lately, so was pleased when I walked into the kitchen this morning to see one waiting by the window for food.

I recently noted that the pineapple broom shrub (Cytisus Battandieri) was having a second flowering, but failed to say the Magnolia Soulangiana is also having a second flowering, although it is very attractive, it is not as stunning as the first flowering due to the thick covering of leaves on the plant. The Magnolia Grandiflora is making a grand show though, the dinner plate sized flowers have been blooming for over a month now, they don't just look amazing, they also have the most wonderful perfume, it is lemon scented and very strong.

The prize winning shrub in the garden at the moment though has to be the beautiful Eucryphia Nymansensis "Nymansay", it is about fifteen feet high and four feet wide. At the moment it makes a tall column of hundreds and hundreds of beautiful white blossoms, which are so attractive to the bees that they are all over the plant --- even sleeping in the flowers overnight.

Another beautiful display is made by the tall yellow daisies, they are ten to twelve feet high. They are multi -stemmed, bright yellow in colour and again so attractive to the bees, who also spend the night in them.

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About this Blog

When we moved to our present home in December 1987, I was very ill and bedridden. My garden was a life-saver, although it was very different then. The first thing I did was to put up bird-feeders, and long hours were spent lying indoors in a recliner. This was when I discovered many things. Do you know the underside of every blue tit’s tail is differently marked? Gradually, over the years, the garden changed. We put in shrubs and plants that would not only enhance the garden, but would also be good for wildlife. The first rabbit we saw was so joyful for us. The deer eat the flowers, prune the apple trees, eat the marrow, and are wonderful to watch. Foxes have been a major part of our wildlife. We have fed them each night for more than 20 years. They are such a delight, especially in late summer and early autumn when there are youngsters. They behave like puppies and are great fun to watch.

I love all wildlife: the mason bees that nest in the brickwork of the bungalow, the hornets that last year made their home in the roof above our bedroom, the bees currently nesting in the roof above the bathroom. On a hot evening, if you stand quietly in the bathroom, you can hear this amazing sound: it is very rhythmic and reminds me of the waves at the seaside. It is made by the beating of the bees’ wings as they fan their nest to keep the temperature at the right level -- how many people have heard that sound? I feel so privileged.

Obviously, I feed the birds. When I open the window in the morning I call “Come on Bobby and Blackie”, and one followed swiftly by the other they fly immediately to the bird table. Each morning, on rising, I make my way to the kitchen and find the squirrels already sitting on the window ledge waiting to be fed. Winter brings the moorhens and spring time the mallards. Our pond is a poor effort from a human point of view, but wild creatures see it differently. On summer days, the grass snakes spend long hours in the pond: eating the fish, froglets, toadlings, newts, and any other living creature they can swallow. Although I hate to see the pond emptied this way, I do enjoy the snakes and feel they are an important part of the balance of nature in the garden. Watching a dragonfly nymph climbing out of the pond, up a plant stalk, and then over the next few hours gradually transforming into a beautiful dragonfly -- these are contented hours well spent.

It has been my pleasure to write and publish a nature column each month. I am always delighted to hear how much pleasure this brings to my readers. I have often been asked if I have written a book, so I am making more of my writings and photography available through this web site and blog.