Sunday sunshine

After being in London twice in 2 weeks, travelling on trains, driving up and down the motorway to Northamptonshire and back, it was so good to get out in the garden on Sunday.  I did a quick sweep around the lawn and borders first, checking to see if any urgent jobs were required.   Thankfully not, but I'm noticing that some of my summer plants are still flowering - the Sidalcea (variety: Elsie Heugh) and the Hairy Canary Clover.  This time last year, they'd both died down and I'd already cut back the dead stems on 'Elsie'.....could be the weather affecting them, or they just enjoying being where they are!   Mind you, I don't have borders brimming with plants and seasonal colours yet so what little colour is still hanging around I'm very grateful for.  I need to think about putting in some autumn/winter plants to get more colour in the garden this time of year.

Canary Clover

Sidalcea 'Elsie Heugh'

Walking around the borders I spotted a large, dark hairy caterpillar munching it's way through a leaf. He/she was so handsome that I had to take a photo and later identified it from a website.  Turns out it was a Knot Grass moth caterpillar - never heard of it!  I was surprised that such a beautiful caterpillar becomes such a dull coloured adult.  Anyway, I left him/her where he/she was as I didn't have the heart to interrupt lunch!

Mr (or Mrs) Knot Grass Moth caterpillar

beautiful markings of orange/yellow and white

Next, it was on to inspect The Field.  I did a quick sweep of the top area just to make sure that the rabbits haven't returned to try and dig back into the old warren.  I'm a bit bothered that they might start to try and get in for the winter but I have a suspicion that the presence of Jasper the Rabbit Killer might just be keeping them at bay. I'm always going to have them as visitors because my garden backs onto open fields; I can live with that, I just don't want them as tenants!

I love being in The Field when the sun shines.  I've begun to pick out places where I'd like to sit; places that offer a view as well as shelter and shade at different times of the day.  One such space is an overgrown Box shrub which forms part of the hedge on the right hand side.  Luckily for me it's growing over into the field and has developed an ideal shape to shelter a bench; plus the view from there looks straight through a gap in the opposite hedge and out across the fields that sweep up to the horizon on the opposite side of the road.  So on Sunday I decided to do a little bit more to open it up.

Every now and again my neighbours children come and help me in the garden and one of their favourite jobs is gradually cutting back this Box ready for a seat to go in. I'd no sooner got the tools out of the shed when I was joined by the rest of the 'Tywardreath Highway Gardening Team', as they like to call our little trio.  I swear they can hear the shed doors opening!  So they set about clipping the Box and I'm pleased to say that, due to all their amazing work, it's about ready for a seat.

2/3 of the THGT at work 

A Box with a view

So, let's end with a question for any budding Sherlock Holmes out there.......when I was putting in my raised beds a few months ago I came across a tree stump which was hiding amongst the weeds and nettles.  It refused to come out of the ground, so I cleared as much off the top and around it as possible and left it.  When I went to check the field on Sunday I found this cluster of mushrooms growing on the top of it.  I think it's an old Hazel stump.  I've no idea what these 'shrooms are, can't identify them from any of my books.  So if anyone knows what the name of them is (I'm pretty sure they're not edible so I'm not even going to touch them!) - answers on a postcard please! 

unknown 'shroom!

any ideas?