Insects in the sun

[Catherine]

It was very warm and sunny yesterday, and the Buddleia attracted lots of insects!

[Chocky]

Some lovely captures Catherine

[rolf]

Great shots Catherine, really illustrates a summer's day. Your Buddleja is well on, mines only just firing up the first blooms, but then I did deliberately leave it late to prune.

[Catherine]

Thanks, folks!

Buddleias are very thirsty shrubs, so need a lot of water or the leaves turn yellow. I chose the pink as it doesn't clash with other flowers out just now, and is a warm colour. I went round to see the one Mike left in this front garden near here, and it looks awful. Because it has neither been watered or fed, the leaves are yellow and the purple flowers are small. Very sad!

[rolf]

Guess I've been lucky, ours hasn't been watered or fed, but is striding away, had cut it down to around four or five feet back in late April.

[Catherine]

I think you are lucky as its roots seem to be in the shade!

They DO grow very quickly though, don't they?

Mine is about the same height, and I cut it to about the same as you did yours, but I think it needs cut back to 2' next year as it smothers all plants around it!

[rolf]

Yes, it's about 15', but needs to be quite high, as there are very few bridge plants in neighbouring gardens, going to try and talk my new neighbours into putting in a couple in the corner of their large garden, loads of space behind their cabin.

[rolf]

By the way Catherine, these photos were taken in the garden a couple of months back, do you know what this self seeded plant is?

[Catherine]

I am not sure of its name, Rolf, and have looked but cannot find it via Google, but it's a grass which grew in Mike and Becky's first garden, having seeded there from somewhere else.

It is tough, not very attractive, and difficult to get rid of as it clings to the soil! It's not one of the prettier grasses which is light and moves with the breeze. Its seed head aren't very pretty either.

If you want to keep it as nothing else will grow there, or if you want to keep other plants away from that space, it would be a good control, but there will also be a fairchance that it will take over where you don't want it. As I said, it's amazingly tough!

[rolf]

Thanks Catherine, it's coming out, as it's starting to crowd other things, most importantly my Chilean Guava mini bushes.