The Lincolnshire Bird Club

A sunny day in the garden and the butterflies appeared pm :

Red Admiral
Peacock
Comma
Speckled Wood - 2
Large White

.......with the main nectaring attraction being the Sedum spectabile now that the Buddleia is nearly over.
plus :
Silver Y on Sunflower.

Freddy

Additions in the garden this afternoon (Sun) to yesterday's butterflies :

now 3 Commas on the Sedum
.....and a Small White also visited the garden.

Freddy

A Small Tortoiseshell in the garden on Marjoram and Sunflower.....the first one this September.

Freddy

7 Small Tortoiseshell on our 3 Heleniums (Sahin's Early Flowerer) this afternoon, but no other Butterfly species noted.

7 garden Small Tortoiseshells together is certainly a good number, Richard.......I've only had 4 all summer/autumn. The horrendous weather in late spring and early summer meant that the first emergence was a disaster, but fortunately the second from early August has resulted in some much better numbers being reported. These are the ones which will shortly be going into hibernation, and we won't be seeing the (hibernation) survivors again until the first warm days of spring when they will emerge to mate and breed.... hopefully surviving until well into May.

Freddy

I have found our three, first season Helenium plants to be quite a bonus, especially for bee species, with which I must hone my knowledge. Beware, the emerging shoots of helenium provide a feast for rabbits!

Richard..

Richard,

You may be interested to know that according to the gardening section of a recent newspaper (although perhaps you read the article, too) the Helenium, commonly known as Helen's flower, was named in honour of Helen of Troy by the 18th Century Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus. According to legend, heleniums sprouted from the ground wherever Helen's tears fell as she contemplated her part in stoking the Trojan War.........absolute bunkum, of course, as the plants are not native to ancient Greece at all, but come from North America.

Some varieties can be kept going for bees and butterflies (and for yourselves!) into November by meticulous deadheading of fading blooms.

Good Luck with yours.....and keep an eye out for the butterflies.

Freddy

Freddy,

Thanks for that.

I removed 58 fading flowers from my 3 Helenium plants yesterday(is it sad to count?!). According to my recent Google the species come from Central as well as North America. Importantly, our plants will be well guarded against rabbit encroachment next spring when emerging shoots appear.

A single Small Tortoiseshell on Scabious this afternoon.

Richard...

.......and I'm now down to just 2 Commas today on what is left of the Sedum and Buddleia blossom (plus the Full Stop coming up).

Freddy

A solitary Comma on Viburnam blossom early afternoon today in the garden....in the sun, with the S wind bringing the temperature up to c.14 C.

Freddy