*Summer 2017 - June*

It's good to see wildlife in the garden.
Your stream is lovely :)

Oh my its lovely where you live, the stream meandering through with all the Iris looks so attractive, clean and fresh looking as well, we rarely see any butterflies now Lori so its good to see yours, they are pretty ones as well, do you know I haven't even spied any common white cabbage ones this year. Its good to see colour in your garden Lori and you've waited what seems to me to be a long time this year....

It's all looking lovely. Love the colour of the butterfly in the first photo. Sorry, excuse my ignorance, but what is SIB?

Iris Sibirica, Lisam. The stream looks so lovely and fresh now - its certainly repaying all your hard work, that seems a long time ago now. The irises look really at home there.
That Paeony's a real cracker!

Thank you Steragram. I'm hopeless when it comes to abbreviations.

What a lovely blog Lori. The butterflies are beautiful and your garden is looking great. I just love Irises.....the yellow ones look nice by the stream.

Lovely seems to make it worth your long wait

Thanks Hywel, it's a constant source of work and entertainment. It was one of the major reasons why we bought this property and I'm happy to share my enthusiasm for it. :-)
Lincslass: You know, now that you mention it, I haven't seen any of the Cabbage Butterflies either. Every year with the hatch of the first mosquitoes comes the dragonflies..and they're spectacular in their variety and voracious where mossies are concerned... Halleluja! The stream is lovely but it's an insect vector!.. the mosquitoes, blackflies. deer/horseflies, and damselflies and dragonflies all require water to reproduce. Each of the 6 springs (yes, 6!) so far, has seen a hatch of dragonflies that resembles the evacuation of Saigon! mini hellies...buzzing around. Their jaws snap while they knab mosquitoes and houseflies in midflight!
Lisam: The first photo should have been labelled better...sorry about that. It is a damselfly. They are like small versions of dragonflies. That one is so visible with it's black wings I wonder how they survive. They flit above fast moving water catching midges and blackflies I would guess... they are proud creatures too... they will sit on a blade of grass and pose for the camera. ;-) I have lots of Siberian Irises...but never enough...have seen one that is a deep perfect blue...I hope to get that one for a growing collection that includes a few of the many different types of iris. I have Sibs and beardies... lol... Siberians and Bearded Iris.
Hi Stera! That paeony is supposedly Sarah Burnhardt...but it's a little different than the other SB I have. ??? I've been trying to get my paeonies into a place where they'll thrive.
Hi Linda! Those yellow iris are finally starting to show up... it's a long story.
Thanks Bjs... I'm still waiting in many respects...but gardening is a never ending saga, right? ;-)