Sunday 22 June 2008

Midsummer gallery

Merry is the summertime when you're a pea. This is Sugar Magnolia strutting its stuff with industrial-strength tendrils.

All the pea breeding projects are a delight at the moment, and this is just one of the attractive new phenotypes. It's an F2 from a cross between Mr Bethell's Purple Podded and Alderman. In all my purple pod experiments, the offspring separate out into pure purples, pure greens, and mixed up semi-purples like this. The purple flash is different on either side of the pod, which gives a very alluring glow when the sun shines through it.

The new camera has made a good impression so far. It focused perfectly on this bee grappling with an Allium christophii flower in all its fluffy stripey guinea-pig shaped detail.

I can't take any credit for this lovely clematis, it belongs to my next-door-neighbour and grows along our adjoining fence.

I'm lucky to have this rare Red Miracle sweetcorn to try out this year (thanks Graham), an open-pollinated variety bred in the US by Alan Kapuler and sporting beautiful deep red kernels when it's mature. Fingers crossed that it won't take offence at the British climate.

A rare appearance from our agoraphobic Norwegian Forest Cat, bravely venturing as far as the edge of the patio. Yes she does always have that facial expression.

Last month we had a red damselfly, but the turquoisey ones are now out and about. This one has a nice smiley face as well as beautiful colour.

Round the other side of the colour wheel, you can't beat California poppies.

A moth takes a breather on one of the pea leaves

3 comments:

Matron said...

A Norwegian forest cat? did you get her from the heritage seed bank too?

Anonymous said...

Wonderful pictures!
And the Norwegian cat is really sweet

Christina said...

Beautiful, beautiful photos.