There’s a definite sense of slow down in the garden as the daylight wanes and temperatures drop. We’ve harvested the potatoes, carrots and kale from the veg beds though we’re still waiting for the sprouts and squashes. Most of the annuals have died back and in the next few weeks, we’ll plant snow drop, iris, daffodil and tulip bulbs to give us some spring colour until the summer flowering perennials like hardy geraniums and scabiosa start filling the border.
The scabiosa has been one of my favourites this year as it’s low maintenace with a long flowering period (prolonged by dead heading) and it’s a magnet for the bees and butterflies. This summer seems to have been a good one for our fluttering visitors as I’ve spotted Comma, Small Tortoiseshell and Painted Lady butterflies in the garden, as well as cabbage whites nibbling the brassicas in the veg beds.
We feed the birds all year round, and in addition to the sparrows, blue tits, starlings, magpies, pigeons and the odd grey squirrel that visit regularly, we’ve also seen long-tailed tits visiting our feeding station for the first time this year. Apparently, long tailed tits are very vulnerable to cold winters and I suspect the population has only just recovered from the Beast from the East last year, but I hope they’ll become regular visitors to our garden.
Given that we live in an urban environment, I’m always delighted by the diversity of wildlife that inhabit and visit our garden. Have a lovely week! X
Lovely post. We can do so much for wildlife in our own gardens! 🌼🐝🌱
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. It’s just so much easier to work with nature rather than trying to control it with weed killers and pesticides – and it’s better for us, the wildlife and the environment. 🌍
LikeLike
Congratulations on your abundant harvest! I have been pleased with the scabiosa in my own garden, planted for the first time this year. The only problem was the rampant cat mint, its dominant neighbour, which almost edged out the scabiosa.. I think I’ll be repositioning it next year.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can relate – I’m always relocating plants because they’re being overwhelmed by their neighbours! ☺️
LikeLiked by 1 person
So lovely that you get long tailed tits visiting. They are such busy little birds and look like humbug lollipops. 🙂 X
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oddly enough the first time I noticed them was when I heard them tweeting, they’re much sweeter sounding than the sparrows that we normally hear squabbling in the hedge. ☺️ X
LikeLike
Lovely photos. My garden is a bit neglected at the mo but I saw a hedgehog at 6am this morning…it made my day that he came to visit !!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aw, how lovely! I keep hoping we’ll see a hedgehog (they could feast on all the slugs in our garden) but think our area has too many roads and not enough hedges. X
LikeLike
Gorgeous pictures of your urban garden! We rescued a junior hedgehog a few weeks ago by taking it to the vets….after a clean up from the vet nurse we put him back in our garden. We are planning on making a hedgehog house next….for hibernating hogs!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you. Aw, what a lovely visitor to have in your garden, and very useful too as hedgehogs eat slugs, glad they were ok. 🦔
LikeLiked by 1 person