Veg patch and Pollinator Meadow in May

What's better than one Painted Lady in your garden? Why, two of course! I was so happy to see the return of these migratory beauties last week. They made a beeline for the Dame's Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) in my Pollinator Meadow, which is quite a hit with butterflies.

I've gone back through my old posts and labelled the Pollinator Meadow posts as for some reason I never did that. If you are interested in how it looked the first year (2012) when it was mostly annuals, plus lots of bees and other insects on the plants, here's a link, and a post about it from last year with lots more critters including bee flies and crab spiders is here.

I was lucky they posed like this showing both sides of the wings although
I only managed one snap before one flew off, so got lucky!

The day before there was just the one Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui).

White butterflies love this plant too - here's a Small White (Pieris rapae).
Dame's Rocket is a brassica and they can use it as a host plant,
but I've never discovered any caterpillars on it.

And a Comma (Polygonia c-album).

This I think is a female Green Veined White (Pieris napi).
These Heartsease Violas self seed all over the veg patch and the strawberries
have gone wild into the Pollinator Meadow now too!

The Pollinator Meadow is the patch with the white flowers. It was originally about 1.5 metres wide by about 5 metres long, but it's spread this year as you'll see in the photos below.

In the middle of this plot in the foreground is a patch of self seeded coriander!

The shadier end of the Pollinator Meadow, which now has colonised the metre wide strip
of bare soil in front where I grew some veggies last year!

There are quite a few Aquilegias snuck in now, and I was pleased
to see some different colours from the usual dark blue
and purple that I mostly have.

Some bug life going on in there too - lots of Hairy Shieldbugs
(Dolycoris baccarum) on a Verbascum (I've no idea if they eat this plant)
and Woundwort Shieldbugs (Eysarcoris venustissimus) on the Hedge Woundwort.
I can't manage decent macros right now as they are too low down!

One of my other flower strips from last year has been taken over by
Dame's Rocket too and there's hardly any room to sow the annual
flowers I was going to as so many plants have self seeded!

And here's another of my flower strips by the fence -
there's just room to get in a few more annual seeds.

Same strip - the Hollyhocks are getting huge!
There's also Opium Poppy, Feverfew, Sunflowers, Gladioli and Phacelia.

I managed one job last week on my hands and knees - weeding around one of my
strawberry patches and putting some straw down. It's not worth putting up the netting
so we'll share these strawbs with both birds and slugs alike. :-)

Onto some veggies - my OH's spud patch after its first earthing up, and another
row of strawberries which haven't had straw put down.... yet. If at all!

A variety of lettuce he sowed earlier into this cold frame - the lid's been taken off now.
There's Cos, Batavia and Little Gem here.

Another view of the veg patch looking colourful - just the way I like it.

I had a brief look at some of the fruit trees and whilst I see tons of cherries that have set, as far as the plums go there are some greengages, but barely a damson and none that I can see on my purple plum. But that's just how it goes and we're lucky we had a good plum year last year and I got to make tons of greengage jam. I haven't checked the orchard yet for apples and pears. Should have plenty of soft fruit as usual although I'm not going to be picking a lot so the birds or the neighbours will have to enjoy them! There is one preserving job we do plan to do even if my OH has to do most of it (poor guy), and that's make elderflower cordial, as we both love it. But it's somewhat easier to do than make jam!

I have more garden photos from the rest of the garden, and critters, but will post them separately. 

I'm also feeling loads better!!!