at the valerian

a horse fly, refuelling for a day's torment and biting

foxglove lane

It has been a very good year for foxgloves. The hedgerows are full of them. We have moved on from blue to purple and mauve.

not much is happening this side of the Atlantic. At least it is not raining. So here are some geraniums (ii? ia?) and a goldfinch on a peony in our garden jungle.
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tufted vetch and flea beetles

the tufted vetch in close up and the flower showing clearly that it is in the pea family. I love the light blue of the lower lip of the petals. And below some flea beetles (species uncertain) procreating on an appropriately named dock leaf.


ps maybe dead nettle leaf beetle chrysolina fastuosa, found thanks to the wonders of Google image

navelwort

navelwort (also know as wall pennywort) is something of an abundant local speciality. It gets its name from the rounded leaves with a central dimple where the stalk is attached. Valerian (below) and hedge woundwort (at the bottom) are also out which means summer has arrived. From now on the hedgerows tend to become overgrown with ferns and grasses, and much of the colour drains away. And of course it starts raining.

star struck

a patch of marsh (probably as this is wet grassland) or lesser stitchwort looking like the stars they are named for (stellaria). With a few blue stars