So hot......

The temperature has risen and the soil is bone dry. Although it has been chilly and grey for many weeks here, we have had little rain. The odd shower here and there but nothing significant. I try hard not to be tempted to water the garden apart from hanging baskets and tubs. I personally feel that if you leave plants alone and they have the right conditions, long term they do well. The heat has brought the butterflies out and this little meadow brown, sitting on top of the verbena bonariensis, is a common butterfly here.
The Comma likes the verbena as well......in fact it is a firm favourite with them.......they are using this in preference to the Buddleja.
The water hawthorn is flowering and the perfume is lovely.....
the lobelia that I situated in the ornamental pond is also flowering and attracting honeybees...
and the water lettuces seem to increase in size everyday. I am really enjoying this part of the garden....life is already appearing in the pond....I cannot tell you at the moment what they are but give me time......

This echinops is just coming into bloom.....the bee could not wait to investigate......
here is one fully opened. They are lovely plants, no staking required, no feeding, they reseed so come up year after year.......all in all a good wildlife plant.

This is a wildflower, ragwort....and it is the host plant for the cinnabar moth.......It is fine in my garden but for anyone with horses or livestock it is toxic to them....and therefore needs to be dealt with swiftly.....
The mighty cardoon has just opened its bloom and if you look closely there is a bee enjoying itself.....my plants have done well this year and are standing around nine feet tall, hence why I could not get the picture I wanted.
African corn lillies are something I enjoy, they are colourful and again require little attention.
This is purple loosestrife.....a wild flower here......my garden is full of it....and I absolutely love it. This plant today was full of honeybees....dozens and dozens of them.........it spreads like wildfire and to be honest I am glad it does, this time of year I have a lovely purple haze all over the garden.....
And finally another tiger lily has opened, I really like these flowers. They have not attracted any insects which is a shame but they are lovely to look at. The summer has been late and September is not that far away.........it has been a strange year weather wise. How has the summer been for you so far and has your garden done well?? Mr P is having a day off tomorrow, so we are going out to lunch, and going to the garden centre (can't wait)......the weekend is not far away.....have a lovely one..........