The second incubator full has started to hatch   .

   

Although it wasn't that warm last night I was happy to see some of our local bats out and about. Don't know what type of bats they are but we often get quite a lot hunting over our garden. 
I'd ideally like to find out what they are and see if there is anything we can do to help with boxes etc. 

I'll try and post a video I took last night but might take me a while to sort it out.

(Why yes, I am a fan of Eddie Izzard...)

The only place in my garden that attracts bees at the moment is a monstrous pyrocantha that hums like a hive in the sunlight but is too tall for me to get photos. However here are some other bee pics from last year:

This, I think, is a red mason bee, taken in late March last year. I have some red mason bee cocoons coming next spring to release into my garden, so I need to plant some spring flowers for them!

   

And from July last year, a honeybee on viper's bugloss - I just planted a couple of these wildflowers in my front garden.

   

Both taken with an iPhone 7 Plus, using the Camera+ app's macro function.

This group is proving as elusive as my avatar! (which is a Scarlet Pimpernel, in case you hadn't guessed from my thread title)

Hello again, folks! Here's hoping we're settled down at last. It feels rather appropriate to be rebooting this group the same summer as I'm rebooting my veggie patch. I'm hoping to have lots of photos of yummy crops to share in coming months!

We have a 'happy' thread so I thought we should have a 'sad' thread .  We aren't bubbly and smiling all the time.  This isn't a place to rant about the world but perhaps to air a feeling of less than happy, hopefully it won't be used overmuch. 

Likes on this thread are "sympathy" likes.

I'll start it off:

Out planting in the spitty rain I looked at the pear trees, a conference type and a comice type.  Earlier in the month it looked like the fruit had set ok, then we had a heatwave and drought interspersed with high winds.  Now looking at both trees I can't see a single fruit.  Such a shame.

hi I bought 2 of these chillis at the start of lockdown they have both produced loveLy large red chillis about 4” long, they say they are hot but I need about 3-4 for a good curry or chilli con carne.

They have both started producing little white flowers, just wondering if this would help any of our resident chilli experts identify them.

   

Hi all,

I know rhubarb isn't exactly a fruit, but, like the section title, it is "fruity"...

We have this very well established rhubarb on the plot. I think the base of it must be about 1.5 ft in diameter. It is apparently a Timperley Early. It wasn't planted by the previous plotholder and seems to have been there for quite some time. It gave a great crop early on, and now has these rather less robust stalks (hopefully) keeping it going.

   

I know they like a good feed at the end of the season. I'm wondering if we should also consider splitting it later in the year. Advice and opinions welcome.

Thanks as ever!

Edit to say: It is also in a bindweed-heavy area of the plot, and you can see some infiltrating weeds in there. If we don't split it, any advice about ridding it of these interlopers would also be appreciated.

Hi all,

Do I need to do any earthing up for yellow onions? They seem to be growing ok, but the contour of the very top of the bulb seems to be showing from some. I've attached a photo, but it doesn't really show the best example!

   

Thanks for your help!

I have a fabulous wisteria trained against a wall - my boys gave  it to me for Christmas several year ago. But even though it looks gorgeous in May it soon drops all the flowers and the foliage is pretty boring whole summer. 
I have to keep it in check a lot throughout the summer as it's by my kitchen door. It's very vigorous.

I was wondering if I could grow a clematis through it? Anyone seen one?  Obviously a Montana wouldn't work but I thought a viticella that gets pruned down low once a year would be fine. What do you think?

Next year I plan to try out one chilli.  Never grown them before, don't use them much but there is such enthusiasm from those that do grow them, I'm keen to give it a try. 

So which variety should I go for, I want a low to medium heat and easy to grow.  The freebie seeds with the mag included 'cayenne' which calls itself medium heat, would they  be a good place to start?  Especially as they are free