Summer Reflections

 

Comma butterfly on yarrow. (Photo from personal collection)

It has been a while since I published a post here. And I am sure my presence has been sorely missed. So, with that in mind, I thought that I would take a little look back over my summer 2022 so far.

Perhaps the first thing to note of this year's summer, from a nature lover's perspective, as compared with the summers of the last two years, is that Covid-19 and lockdowns are not quite so present here, in the UK, as they were. There are pros and cons to this.

When lockdowns came into effect, and everyday activities had to adapt to an extraordinary situation, people found a great appreciation for the nature and wildlife they perhaps hadn't noticed before. Suddenly, mountain goats and deer were going viral, and everyone was taking to footpaths and waters for a little release. 

There were, unfortunately, facemasks and latex gloves discarded in the grasses and rivers, amongst the usual rubbish. This never made a whole lot of sense to me; why go so far as to use the PPE but then discard it so carelessly? Do you have any understanding of how viruses spread? 

Don't get it, never will. But then, I don't understand littering in general. Why is it that takeaway containers become too much to bear after they are empty? You can carry them down to the park when they're full of food? But it's too much to deal with, too far to the nearest bin, once you've filled your belly?

Bless.

Rubbish in the fields. I'm torn. Sometimes I wish there were more people out on the countryside footpaths. Then, I see this, and I think there's more than enough people out there. (Photo from personal collection)

Whenever I am able to do so, I pick up litter. It's not always possible. Out in the middle of nowhere, without gloves or a picker, or just an empty bag in which to place rubbish, it can be unwise, or even unsafe, to go picking up the rubbish.

To be honest, it is such a problem that any good hearted person must pick and choose which pieces of rubbish they pick up – otherwise you could spend your whole day picking up rubbish, never get where you're going, and not make a dent in the problem.

Bless those groups that volunteer their time for coordinated litter picks!

I fully support the move towards a circular economy for this reason, and others. In particular, government plans to roll out a recycling scheme that would see consumers get money back on purchases when they recycle containers might go some way towards improving the problem of littering. 

Customers, at the point of purchase, would pay a small deposit which would be returned when containers are recycled. For this reason, schemes like this are referred to as a DRS (Deposit Return Scheme). This does, of course, rely on collections and the recycling being done efficiently and effectively once consumers have done their part. Another concern is the speed at which the UK government is going to roll out this scheme – we're talking years!

Evening primrose. Opens in the evening – clue's in the name – just in time for the night-flying moths. (Photo from personal collection)

This sunnier time of year is great for watching flowers open and, hopefully, the visitors they attract.

The flowers I have planted all call pots and containers home, and I have been potting and re-potting as they've grown and needs have changed. The plus to potted plants, is that they are mobile, and they can be moved to keep in the sun. Or out of it, as the case may be.

Also, since they are contained, they are controlled. But, they are limited by the space they have. Hence the need for repotting and thinning out, so that they can reach full potential.

For me, first the daisies and the poppies came. And they did their jobs well – bumblebees buzzed inside the poppies, and the daisies attracted hoverflies and other bees. Other flowers and fruits have come through since, and it's a joy to watch, and to be a part of it.

My appreciation of plant life came via my appreciation of animal life. But, now that I have found it, I love plants for themselves too, not just their place in the ecological landscape. They are fascinatingly strong, resilient, and, I would argue, even intelligent!

Well, that's a little snapshot of my summer so far. A little recap blog post, a bit of a catch up, a bit of a ramble through some thoughts and feelings. I took some time away from  a few things in the last month or so, but I hope to get back on this blog regularly once again.

I haven't covered everything here, of course. There is the Big Butterfly Count to talk about, birds to discuss, and lots of walks to reflect upon. Plus, the plants in the garden could have a number of posts of their very own! But, there's plenty of time for all that in these long days of summer . . .

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Aphids, aphids, aphids . . .

 

Poppy (Papaver rhoeas) from the garden. (Photo from personal collection)

Every morning, somewhere between waking up and my first coffee of the day, I go into the garden. I look over my plants, just to check on how they are doing, and how they might have grown since the day before.

There are a number of things that can affect a plant. The weather, for a start. Wind can topple, and too much sun can wilt. Then there are insect and animal visitors.

Poppies again. Apologies. (Photo from personal collection)

A few weeks ago, I noticed that I had some aphids making themselves at home in my wildflowers . . . 

What are aphids?

Aphids are a very small insect that suck sap from plants. Some species – there are a few thousand – specialise in a single plant, others are generalists and can take food from a number of different plants.

They can reproduce asexually, that is, without the need for their eggs to be fertilised, so their numbers can multiply rapidly. In this way, the female produces live aphids. Later on, in autumn, the females will reproduce with males so they can lay eggs that will overwinter, ready for next spring.

The problems

Aphids can reproduce at a speedy rate, and as they suck the sap from the plants upon which they are living, that is going to lead to a greater and greater strain upon the plant. 

Aphids' activity upon a plant can lead to distorted growth, wilting, and their waste, honeydew, can cause mould growth. As well as this, they can be vectors of disease between plants.

Strawberries, chillies, evening primrose; the little garden. (Photo from personal collection)

Aphids and ants

Aphids and ants have a fairly well documented symbiotic relationship. 

Ants take honeydew from aphids, which is a valuable source of energy for the ants. This aphid waste is very sugary, and inspires the ants to farm and protect the aphids.

Aphids are food for a number of natural predators – ladybirds and their larvae, lacewing larvae, and some wasps are a few. However, if ants are present, and they are taking their food from aphids' honeydew, they will protect the aphids from these predators. 

Ants will also escort aphids to new plants as aphid numbers increase. In winter, when aphids have laid their eggs, ants will take those eggs into their own nests to keep them safe.

Back to my garden

Oxeye daisies. (Photo from personal collection)

The aphids have been present in the garden for a little while. And I had noticed that some of the Oxeye daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare) were looking a little lacklustre as they bloomed. But, the wildflowers had been planted for the benefit of the wild lives out there in the garden. And, since aphids are part of that ecological landscape, I shrugged with a c'est la vie attitude, and I left them to it.

There have been some ladybirds in the garden and the flowers have been blooming, which in turn have still provided food for bees, which I have seen visiting. I trusted that nature would take care of things.

Yesterday however, in the evening, I went outdoors to check on the plants. As ever, aphids and ants were present on some of the wildflowers. However, I noticed that they were now beginning to populate the strawberry plants. Now, this aroused some feelings which challenged my original laissez faire approach!

The strawberry plants, and the chilli plants with them, are beginnings of an exercise in self-sufficiency. They are experiments in growing food for myself. So, as I endeavour to yield a fairly decent crop of produce, I began to resent the presence of these little sap-suckers.

I do not want to use insecticides. At all. This passion for plants stemmed very much from my passion for pollinators and other wildlife. That will always be a priority, so I simply will not go about spraying chemicals that might do harm to friendly insects visiting the garden.

Yesterday, I undertook some manual "pest" control. Going around the strawberry plants, lifting leaves, and looking under blossoms and fruit heads, I brushed off the aphids I found. Then I removed any leaves that were particularly well populated. I noticed that the ants seemed to resent my activity, as they became quite active themselves.

I will check over the plants again today, and I will probably undertake a similar procedure. I have heard it said that a solution of water and chilli powder will irritate the aphids and inspire an exodus, but I fear this might irritate lives beneficial to the plant too, and to pollinators.

I might invest in a small water pistol or a spray bottle with a decently powerful squirt. Another suggestion I have found across the internet being to go about and simply shoot them from the plants with water.

Whatever the method of control, if that is what you decide to do, it pays to be thorough; aphids are often found on the undersides of leaves or tucked away somewhere between leaves and stems. Also, please do not use insecticides – they are indiscriminate and will do as much harm to pollinators and other garden friendly visitors as they will to any "pests".

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Amazed by Life in the Garden

 

One of my crooked but beautiful poppies. (Photo from personal collection)

Whenever I talk about my interest in gardening and plant life, I often tell people how it all began with my love for wildlife. Animal life just seemed so much more dynamic and interesting to me when I was younger. It wasn't until I was a little older that my consideration for nature grew to encompass plant life and gardening.

I have never cared for worrying over a well-manicured lawn. And I have no interest in planned and perfected tidy gardens. My interest in gardening has very much stemmed from my care and concern for nature. It is one small way in which I can give a little back to something which has given me so much.

The other morning, I watched amazed as a bumblebee, either a White-tailed bumblebee or a Garden bumblebee, I think, visited one of the flowered poppies. That is what it had all been for. All the checking and tending, meeting the needs of the plants as and when they arose.

The flowers of a poppy have no nectar, but they are rich in pollen which provides the bees with essential proteins and fats. 

My poppies have grown in crooked, and I think that there are probably containers out there that are much more "Instagram ready". But I couldn't care less because it was for the bees, and other pollinators, that I sowed the seeds last year.

Yeah, of course, I snap a few pictures, and yes, I share those pictures across my social media. But if nobody but the bees show appreciation for those scarlet flowers, that's just fine with me.

Perfect red petals at the ends of crooked hairy stems, and other hairy little buds ready to burst wide open. (Photo from personal collection)

Poppies are an annual herb. I sowed the seeds last year, and they lived in the soil of my container for a little while. The seeds germinated last autumn, and the plants spent the last year making themselves at home in the container. They have faced challenges; some of the storms of the last year left them a little battered. But they revived, for the most part. They retained enough strength that they began to flower this month.

Once these sunnier months are over, I will collect the seed heads, and sow those seeds in hope of another crop next year. Though, perhaps I will keep some of those tasty seeds back for myself!

Though my interest in plant life stemmed from my passion for nature and wildlife, I have discovered a real appreciation for plants themselves. They are incredibly resilient and strong. I have checked over plants in the garden, thinking that they were beyond saving, looking brown and shriveled, only to later find them looking green and verdant again a day or so later. They have taught me that, given the chance, life will endure.

As for the part they play in the wider ecological landscape, they are at the centre of life on this planet. Of course they are. They are vital to all forms of life on land. They provide food, clean air, materials for shelter, medicine, and even mental wellbeing. Yeah, they have definitely earned my appreciation, and I stop amazed, just to see how they have grown.

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