22nd September 2008, a day in a garden
Barbara Chapman 20 Lindon Road, Runwell, Wickford, Essex SS11 7LR
On a cool and cloudy September morning 1 settled into a comfy chair to open the newly
arrived EFC Newsletter, and to read a few articles before resuming the daily chores. I
always enjoy Mary Smith's Wildlife Diary; the last line of this edition encouraged readers
to submit their own sightings to Mary, '.....or, even better, write an article yourself!'
A little later, the sun broke through, warming everything up, and the garden filled with
hungry insects. On my way to the greenhouse I stopped to admire the ivy in bloom, and,
being so pleased with the variety of life taking advantage of this free feast, decided to
take up Mary's challenge. Happily feeding on ivy blossom I noted several species of
flies, large and small, hover-flies, wasps, bees of various species, a hornet, 4 Comma
butterflies at the same time, and ladybirds(including the Harlequin).
Continuing on my way around the garden I could hear the humming of the many bees
covering the Caryopleris x clandonensis (Blue Spiraea), which were also visiting the
nearby pendant yellow flowers of Clematis 'Bill Mackenzie'. The pink or white flowers
of Cyclamen hederifolium were also of great interest to the bees, as were the lovely
fluffy creamy-white flowers of Myrtle Myrtus communis. A gorgeous yellow flowered
bulb, Sternbergia lutea, was favoured by hover-flies and tiny bees. Also proving an
attraction were Michaelmas Daisy, Hardy Plumbago Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, Ice-
plant Sedum spectabile, Japanese Anemone and the constantly blooming Verbena
bonariensis.
Our having been away the previous week had allowed the garden spiders Araneus
diadematus to construct wonderful orb webs across pathways, which I tried unsuccessfully
to avoid. At every step along our woodchip paths I scattered large numbers of fast,
brown, hunting spiders, and my inspection of the compost heaps (looking for the slow-
worms) was closely watched by our resident robin for feeding opportunities. Back around
the veg plots bees were working the Comfrey and late runner bean flowers, (more spiders'
webs to be avoided), and in the greenhouse I had to catch and release yet more bees and
hover-flies.
The lawn was sporting some dark remains of the Blackening Wax Cap Hygrocybe conica.
It first appeared in the front lawn and has now spread to the back. Checked the ivy
again, found 5 Commas. The front lawn had a good arc of the Yellow Stainer Agaricus
xanthoderma, whilst the dandelions in the back lawn were providing more food for the
bees. I use the term 'lawn' very loosely, it's green and it gets mowed.
During my garden stroll I heard Blue Tits, Chaffinch and Sparrow, and a shrieking Jay
had zoomed over earlier.
Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 58, January 2009
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