More Flowers on the Heath

At the edge of the heath, among grasses and young bracken fronds, tormentil is flowering. Its small, bright lemon flowers will stud the heath like scattered stars until autumn comes again.

Heath bedstraw hides the entrance to a rabbit burrow.

Tiny purple stems of heath speedwell grow on flattened, well grazed greens.

Gorse, bracken and bramble compete for space on a sandy bank.

Early flowers of cross leaved heath have recently appeared amid the gorse.

Foxgloves love shade at the edge of the wood....

....and sprays of wild roses feed bees among silver birches at the bottom of the hill.

Beside the lane, tormentil is scrambling up through  young bramble.....

....and the larger yellow flower of a garden-escape Icelandic poppy shines out from the foot of a tall old hedge.

A Leopard Slug

I found this large and beautifully patterned Leopard Slug yesterday. It was out on a Forest green. Although well camouflaged, the shine of its thick slime trail brought it to my attention, so it has probably become a meal for a passing bird by now.

We rarely see Leopard slugs here. The ones that do most damage in the garden are much smaller but can decimate a lettuce plant overnight!

There is some interesting information about the Leopard Slug, Limax maximus, on Wikipedia. Apparently they are not gregarious, they have a strong homing instinct and they mate hanging upside down from a branch........

It`s Heath Spotted Orchid Time Again

 

There are certain wild flowers that mark specific times and seasons when you live and walk in one place for year upon year. The Heath Spotted Orchid is a sign of mid summer on the sandy New Forest heathlands, where it thrives in damp, often shady habitats. This morning I searched in the numerous grassy ravines in the valley below our hill and found the one secret place, untrodden and unseen, where the orchids always grow.

On a north facing slope, amid grasses, wood sage, and bramble, they will soon be overshadowed by the bracken fronds that grow greener and taller by the day.

Snapped Like Matchsticks.......

We are on the edge of a storm today. Walking around our hill with the dogs this morning, we realised that a usually dark corner of the lane seemed brighter. Trees were bending across a patch of stormy grey sky. At the side of the lane, two fine mature ash trees and a holly lay, felled by the wild winds of last night. One had just missed the cottage behind the hedge.

A closer look at the snapped off trunk showed evidence of disease, maybe a fungal rot, to the right  of the centre. Perhaps this weakness left the tree, in full leaf, unable to withstand the force of wind that pushed at it all night.

A hazy close up of the internal structure of the tree, snapped and torn in such clear geometric shapes.
When we first looked at this photo, we both had an image of the Twin Towers in New York on 9/11. How those dreadful images must be seared into the minds of everyone who saw them around the world.

The second ash tree had fallen at right angles to the first, uprooted at its base and lying across hedge and fence.

Again, there were signs of rot and disease in the roots nearest to the earth.

The cottage is empty at present, but its owner has a huge task ahead, mending fences, clearing snapped branches and the mass of green foliage that now submerges the garden.

A sad end to two lovely trees that shaded this Forest lane for many years.

A Few Summer Flowers

We seem to have had weeks of grey skies and rain. When the sun came out yesterday, just for a few precious hours, I took some photographs of corners of the garden. A few flowers are surviving the wind, rain and low temperatures that the jet stream has brought us this summer.

Above, the scented Paul`s Himalayan Musk rose is coming into bloom, despite the main mass of the plant falling off the pergola in a recent storm.



Below are the first delphinium flowers, alongside self-set foxgloves. Geranium Shepherd`s Warning is at the front of the border.

Most of this year`s poppies had their lovely, fragile petals smashed to ribbons by driving rain, so these two are welcome survivors.

Ox-eye daisies , flattened by rain in the long grass.

Foxglove and the white campion, Dusty Miller.

Penstemon, Geranium Johnson`s Blue and early shrub roses.

The bright coral climbing rose, Lady Penelope.

In wilder corners grow comfrey and elder.....

.....woundwort and teasel.

Curry plant and catnip in sunshine, before the clouds rolled in from the wet South West and showers of rain fell all evening.

A Donkey Foal on a Village Green

 

Yesterday, as we drove home through the lanes and villages in the north of the New Forest, we came upon a family of donkeys on the village green at North Gorley. This donkey foal was the youngest we had seen this summer. A few days old at the most. Its mother seemed tired and rather grumpy. Not uncommon in new mums of any species! When she lay down to rest, the foal constantly nibbled, nudged and bothered her. At last, just when we had put the camera away, she gave in and stood up, eventually giving her baby a good drink of milk although her expression didn`t seem very much happier......

Old Dogs in the Long Grass

In a rectangle of lawn where our boys used to play football in their younger days, we have let the grass grow again. Instead of close clipped grass, there are lovely waving seed heads of rye and purple fescue.

Ox Eye daisies, buttercups, pigweed and yarrow have arrived and grow into flower. Self heal and birds foot trefoil grow around the edges of the grass. Insects and birds love this patch of "hay meadow".

On a grey but warm afternoon last week, I sat on a garden seat, watching the light change on grass heads moving in the breeze. Old Dog and his dear friend Whisper Dog made themselves a bed in the cool grass.

Whisper behind a veil of purple fescue.

Old Dog

Whisper again.