Nest box clearing time.

This weekend we cleared out our nest box. It's getting to the time when the birds are scouting for nesting sites and really we should have done it in January, but better late than never.

We knew it would need clearing out because last year it was inhabited, not by birds but by bees - Tree Bees to be precise.

We were delighted, our box has had blue tits in it but hadn't been used for a couple of years when we noticed the bees buzzing around it. After some initial concern - we have quite a serious a wasp allergy in the house, a session on the internet identified them as the relatively harmless Tree Bumble Bee. They are great pollinators, hardy bees that have spread across the country over recent years. They are a gingery colour with lovely white furry bottoms, and the only thing that we were warned about was a bit of swarming outside the box. This isn't dangerous it's just the male bees hanging around waiting for a date apparently!

They arrived late spring and by late summer they were gone.

Once we opened our box we found it stuffed with bee nest...

...with papery cells...

...and a few bee remains (I didn't focus on those)

But there was also evidence of birds too - grasses, feathers and even...

...a little spotted egg shell! 

It's probably a blue tit egg, so they must have snuck in and out earlier in the year without us noticing!

If you want more information or think you might have a nest visit this site to report it and help track the spread of these bees. The nests are best left alone but can be moved if really necessary, but only be specialists.

Our nest box is all clean now and ready for the next occupant.

Faded glory

 Usually plants dying is something that I hate (except very occasionally with indestructible weeds or manically spreading plants), but this week I have been enjoying some flowers that are well and truly dead but still amazingly beautiful - I just can't throw them away!

They started out like this - bright, cheery and colourful, but not delicate or subtle.

But now...

...they are faded, twisted and dried and I wish I had time to get out my drawing/painting things, and that I could do them justice. They are so graceful and the colours, although faded are still so vibrant. They even rustle beautifully when you touch them.

None of them have dropped petals or stamens...

...some even retain almost their original shape.

I didn't do anything, they didn't run out of water, or stand anywhere particularly warm/dry/cold.

They just transformed from robust and lively flowers to ethereal and wistful art forms, like dainty individual sculptures.

So there it is, my enthusing about dead flowers - although not so outlandish on reflection. I love dried seed heads in the garden and I'm only just clearing some from last summer, not so very different really.

Missed it!

Last weekend was the lovely Bosvigo Hellebore Day, an annual event that I have visited religiously for the last 3 years. This year I missed out. With the rush of work, half term and teenage revision I completely forgot and have deprived myself of my yearly Hellebore fix.

I love Hellebores and have a few now - many bought at Bosvigo Hellebore Day, so I thought I would round up my own Hellebores as a (very poor) substitute to my usual exciting post.

Dark Bosvigo Double...

...which has spread beautifully in the 2 years it's been in.

Pale pink Bosvigo Speckle which was very snail affected this year - grrrr...

Pink Bosvigo veined double, tall and graceful...

...with dark buds which fade to paler centred flowers.

 Single dark Hellebore that came from my Mum's garden which spreads naturally and flowers prolifically.

Oh what a surprise, it's raining again! But the droplets do look beautiful on the Hellebore petals.

My white Hellebore is very short and always a bit tatty, being so close to the ground means it's close to the slugs and snails too.

To see some of my previous trips to Bosvigo Hellebore Days visit here, and here, although on reflection if you do my offerings will look even more sad!

It also shows that the two Hellebores I bought last year haven't flowered this year! There are leaves appearing but I can't see any sign of flowers, but I remain hopeful.

Full of western promise...

On Sunday the family Brown set off west for a lunch out, a bit of fresh air and a sea view. 

All three of these things are very much needed at the moment as 1. my oven is broken so cooking is less varied than usual, 2. the weather has kept us all very much indoors recently (snowed under with marking, revision and general blergh) and 3. why move to Cornwall if you're not going to look at the sea!

We decided to make our way down to Newlyn, heart of the Cornish fishing industry and home to a good pub that does amazing food.

The weather was... well as it is at the moment! It didn't pour down, but that's about as much as you can say! However the muted light reflected beautiful subtle blues and greens on the sea

Looking west towards the Lizard

The fleet with St Michaels Mount in the background.

Now so far this isn't much of a garden post I here you cry - but here's why it is!

Tucked away in one of the side streets we found a glorious doorstep garden, not looking quite it's best at the moment I'll grant you but full of promise for spring.

In a tiny space were crammed all sorts of tender, but still quite lush looking plants.

Mismatched pots spilled out onto the roadside.

Left is shrubby Echium I think -  they have spires of flowers that the bees love.

Right, is an Echium pininana which could get up to 4m tall, I have 2 in my garden at the moment and this is my second attempt, they are biennials that do well in Cornwall if you can get them through the winter - so far I haven't managed that! I also spotted hardy Geraniums, Agapanthus, a Camellia, a climbing Rose, a Clematis and countless other things. I can feel a re-visit coming on later in the year.

Another reason for a re-visit was that our lunch venue was fully booked and the nearest we got to seafood was...

...evidently road sense is lacking in the average squid - where was the Green Cross Code Man when you needed him? So sad!

(there is a joke there somewhere - why did the squid cross the road?... I just hope he doesn't get a ticket!)

As we wandered around the harbour we spotted an amazing green roof - very lush and eco-friendly, but completely unintentional!

The wild garlic was lush and fragrant growing beside the slipway - the perfect spring accompaniment to fish!

So the sea view was achieved and lunch out was achieved (we called in at the Salt Bar on the way home through Hayle), even a bit of garden shenanigans was achieved.

And the fresh air ? Well as long as you like your fresh air decidedly fishy we got that too!