Butterfly Garden Journal

Linda was recovering well, but always knew that sh...

Colin — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 21:41:00 +0000

Linda was recovering well, but always knew that she was very vulnerable to infection, with no resources to fight bugs that most of us would not even notice. Something over a week ago, she acquired a gastric illness, which made her feel rather bad, but it should have been treatable. Then she got a lung infection, which was harder. On Friday, things became more critical and they transferred her to the nearby General Hospital [where she had been treated in the past]. They carefully addressed the infections and the symptoms, stopping short of admitting her to ITU, as they felt that was not in her best interest. I was with her until late Friday night, going home only when she settled for the night. Early yesterday morning [Saturday] she died peacefully.

I am truly sorry that, for some people, this will be first time they have heard this news and this is a rather impersonal medium. I have endeavoured to contact directly as many people as possible, but I'm afraid that some will have been missed.

Linda was always delighted by the feedback she received on this Web site. She knew that it proved useful to many people and a source of pleasure to many more. In keeping with her wishes, although I will not be updating the site, it will remain live and available as a resource for the indefinite future.

If you wish to contact me or find out what is happening with our family, you are welcome to take a look at my blog, which will be revived shortly.

Message from Linda: Last night, moths invaded my ...

Colin — Fri, 12 May 2006 20:56:00 +0000

Message from Linda:

Last night, moths invaded my room - not through the window, but from the main corridor in Deerhurst Ward, Delancey Hospital, Cheltenham. One was a Brimstone Moth. Outside, there's a mature pear tree and I've watched a blue butterfly, large whites and a speckled wood on shrubs below it.

Since Linda is still in hospital and unable to obs...

Colin — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 20:58:00 +0000

Since Linda is still in hospital and unable to observe butterflies for the time being [and also has limited computer access], she suggested that I record anything that I see in our garden and around. I'm not the expert, but I'll do what I can ...

This week there were a couple of sunny days and I observed a Brimstone [seen a few of those around in the last couple of weeks] and an Orange Tip [clearly a male, otherwise I wouldn't have recognized it on the move]. These two seemed to be chasing one another at one point. The Orange Tip eluded my attempt at photography ...

There are quite a lot of dandelions in the garden ...

Colin — Thu, 04 May 2006 10:59:00 +0000

There are quite a lot of dandelions in the garden at the moment, as it's run a little wild while we await the arrival of a guy to do some work on it next week. These seem to be attracting butterflies. The Orange Tip I saw the other day was feeding on one [I've seen more of those round and about]. This morning a Peacock was flying from one dandelion to the next.

Well, there's a dusting of snow today so I feel so...

Linda — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 11:39:00 +0000

Well, there's a dusting of snow today so I feel sorry for any butterfly that came out of hibernation....

I was reading an article by Alan Titchmarsh recently about better borders. There were two points that he made that really struck home with me. First, that the hard landscaping paints the picture and then the beds and borders are the real work of art. Second, "don't be soft-hearted about plants, if any of them aren't cutting the mustard, they're simply not worth having".

We saw the first live butterfly flying past this m...

Linda — Sun, 05 Mar 2006 16:38:00 +0000

We saw the first live butterfly flying past this morning in the centre of Cirencester; it was possibly a Peacock.

My daughter said "Why's there a butterfly in the g...

Linda — Sun, 13 Nov 2005 13:27:00 +0000

My daughter said "Why's there a butterfly in the garden?" as we ate lunch. There in the sunshine by the back fence was a Red Admiral butterfly.

I've seen butterflies up until 15 November in past years, so this may be the last butterfly sighting for this year. It's time for the last few butterflies in flight to find somewhere to hibernate for the winter.

It seems more than just coincidence that I'm in a similar position to those butterflies: I have been offered the chance to hibernate in Cheltenham General Hospital & Bristol Children's Hospital (site of the regional bone marrow transplant unit). I'm being admitted to Cheltenham next weekend.

As I sat at the kitchen table after lunch, I spott...

Linda — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 20:22:00 +0000

As I sat at the kitchen table after lunch, I spotted a Red Admiral butterfly fly over the back garden.

I saw a total of 5 butterflies today but only saw ...

Linda — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 19:03:00 +0000

I saw a total of 5 butterflies today but only saw two close up; both were Red Admiral butterflies. The first Red Admiral was in the grounds of Clouds Hill in Dorset (National Trust); the second was at the top of Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset.

A butterfly briefly flapped around the back garden...

Linda — Sat, 22 Oct 2005 21:33:00 +0000

A butterfly briefly flapped around the back garden this lunchtime when it was quite warm and sunny. I didn't manage to identify it but it was possibly a Peacock or Red Admiral.

I went to Bath today. We sat on a bench in North P...

Linda — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 16:26:00 +0000

I went to Bath today. We sat on a bench in North Parade Gardens eating our lunch and a Red Admiral butterfly stopped briefly on the plants near us.

It was a lovely sunny October day. This Red Admiral butterfly has clearly not yet gone into hibernation. Will it survive the winter to emerge next Spring?

Just like me.

My cancer is back; there were leukaemia cells in my blood on Tuesday. I'm waiting to hear if I will be able to hibernate in a Bone Marrow Transplant Unit.

Upton House (National Trust) holds the national co...

Linda — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 16:19:00 +0000

Upton House (National Trust) holds the national collection of Asters in their garden. I decided that we would visit today. Michaelmas daisies had attracted butterflies in my last garden. Would I find butterflies in this garden at the beginning of October? Most of the Asters were lilac/purple/pale pink; I found a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly and a Red Admiral butterfly on one plant.

This was Aster novae-angliae 'Andenken an Alma Potschke', so now you know which one to buy! Wonder if other bright pink asters hold the same attraction.
Also found a Small White butterfly on a Dandelion.

I'd missed the top terrace of the gardens but went back to walk along it; I'm so glad that I walked that way for I saw a Hummingbird Hawkmoth.

This was my best photo of this Hummingbird Hawkmoth feeding on a Penstemmon. They move so fast that they're difficult to photograph.

I saw a Red Admiral butterfly along the path on th...

Linda — Thu, 29 Sep 2005 19:38:00 +0000

I saw a Red Admiral butterfly along the path on the way to town this morning; I saw 2 of them on the way back.

I think it was a Comma butterfly that I disturbed in my front garden this afternoon. I've been busy filling my garden-recycling-wheelie-bin today; it smells wonderful - herbs and lavender trimmings!

Yesterday, I went to the garden centre to buy some bulbs to cheer me up in the Spring. Would you believe that I came back with a Buddleia? It was flowering. I couldn't resist.

Two Comma butterflies, a Speckled Wood and a Brims...

Linda — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 13:09:00 +0000

Two Comma butterflies, a Speckled Wood and a Brimstone butterfly were in the back garden at lunchtime.

I also saw a Red Admiral butterfly on my return from town this morning.

A Red Admiral butterfly was on one of the Hebe pla...

Linda — Sat, 17 Sep 2005 21:41:00 +0000

A Red Admiral butterfly was on one of the Hebe plants in the front garden this morning.

I was busy tidying the back garden this afternoon, in the company of a Comma butterfly and a Small White butterfly.

Here both butterflies are resting a few feet from one another on the Eleagnus. Large Shrubs are useful as perches for the butterflies. The Comma butterfly had been feeding on Sedum spectabile and Hemp agrimony.

Arrived home this afternoon to find a Red Admiral ...

Linda — Thu, 15 Sep 2005 15:13:00 +0000

Arrived home this afternoon to find a Red Admiral butterfly on a Hebe in the front garden.

A quick tour of the back garden revealed a Speckled Wood butterfly and a Large White butterfly.

Out all day but as I sat in the armchair about 7 t...

Linda — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 22:13:00 +0000

Out all day but as I sat in the armchair about 7 this evening, I glanced outside and witnessed a Hummingbird Hawkmoth moving from one Verbena bonariensis flower to the next. In just a few seconds, it had visited half a dozen flowerheads.

I saw my haematologist this morning. I have myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) - put simply, bone marrow failure/malfunction.

This morning I was busy in the front garden so tha...

Linda — Mon, 12 Sep 2005 22:11:00 +0000

This morning I was busy in the front garden so that I saw a Hummingbird Hawkmoth sampling the Verbena bonariensis quickly as it passed through the garden. There was a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly on Lobelia and later a Red Admiral butterfly was feeding on Ceratostigma and Hebe.

Also saw a Red Admiral and a Small Tortoiseshell on Sedum spectabile in the back garden.

I went out into the garden this morning and spent ...

Linda — Sun, 11 Sep 2005 22:24:00 +0000

I went out into the garden this morning and spent a couple of hours tidying. I trimmed the dead flowers off some of the Lavender and Hyssop bushes. I cut back two of the Buddleias. It was quite challenging to make sure that I didn't get any scratches: I look very healthy but my blood counts are abnormal so that scratches don't heal like they should. I will hear the results of a recent bone marrow biopsy on Tuesday.

Whilst I was working in the front garden, I had the company of a Hummingbird Hawkmoth on two occasions this morning, visiting Verbena bonariensis flowers. After I'd come in, I spotted one from the kitchen window and I think it was feeding from the Ceratostigma flowers. They are truly fascinating to watch but they move extremely fast so that it's almost impossible to get a photograph.

I went outside this afternoon to take a test photo...

Linda — Fri, 09 Sep 2005 14:36:00 +0000

I went outside this afternoon to take a test photo and this Small Tortoiseshell butterfly was posing on the Sedum spectabile.

The photo looks a bit blurred to me but at least I've managed to get it onto my journal. Please excuse me but I've just got a new computer and I'm hassled by trying to transfer software, email messages, my website files etc. As part of the process I am migrating from using Adobe Photoshop Album with Photoshop Elements version 1 to Photoshop Elements version 3, so I've some learning to do. So let's celebrate that I'm still managing to communicate!

I saw a Hummingbird Hawkmoth feeding on Red Valeri...

Linda — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 21:03:00 +0000

I saw a Hummingbird Hawkmoth feeding on Red Valerian this morning.

At about 3.30 this afternoon, I saw a Hummingbird ...

Linda — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 16:46:00 +0000

At about 3.30 this afternoon, I saw a Hummingbird Hawkmoth visit one of my blue Hyssop plants in the back garden.

Two hours later, I looked out of the kitchen window at the front garden and spotted a Hummingbird Hawkmoth; this one visited Ceratostigma, Caryopteris, Hebe 'Josephine', Buddleia Lochinch and Buddleia lindleyana.

The only butterflies seen today are the White ones. I trimmed my Privet hedge this afternoon. The recycling-wheelie-bin is full of Privet and Buddleia branches.

A Comma butterfly was in the back garden this morn...

Linda — Sun, 04 Sep 2005 15:48:00 +0000

A Comma butterfly was in the back garden this morning and another Comma was basking at the front this afternoon.

I photographed a small (in size) Large White butterfly on my pink Buddleia this morning.

Visited the Matara garden at Kingscote this afternoon. Speckled Wood butterflies were about - I saw 4 of them.

Two patches of Water Mint next to the ponds had feeding butterflies. A couple of Comma butterflies and a couple of Small Tortoiseshell butterflies were at one pond. Three Small Tortoiseshells and a Peacock butterfly were beside the other pond.

Lunchtime on a sunny, September Saturday and my da...

Linda — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 18:30:00 +0000

Lunchtime on a sunny, September Saturday and my daughter said "I like castles. Is there a castle nearby that we could visit?" So we went on a family trip to Berkeley Castle. After touring the castle, we went outside into the gardens. It was windy but I managed to photograph a single Painted Lady butterfly on the Verbena bonariensis (along with one Small Tortoiseshell butterfly).

Berkeley Castle also has a butterfly house, which was an added bonus.

I took lots of photos but most of them were blurred! I would recommend a visit if you are nearby.

We stopped at Coaley Peak on the way home. I glimpsed a blue butterfly briefly but didn't get a photo. I saw that there were large patches of Hemp Agrimony and knowing that this is a good butterfly plant, I went to investigate.

I saw a Painted Lady butterfly, one or two Comma butterflies, several Small Tortoiseshell butterflies and FOUR Red Admiral butterflies close together. I was delighted. There has been a shortage of butterflies in my garden this year (too dry?) and no butterflies on the blackberries along the path to town unlike previous years, so I wondered if they'd already gone into hibernation.

Next to this patch of Hemp agrimony was a Bramble patch but there were no butterflies feeding on the blackberries there. It seems Hemp agrimony is 'flavour of the month', although I haven't seen any butterflies on the Hemp agrimony growing in my garden.

I've only seen Large White and Small White butterf...

Linda — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 16:26:00 +0000

I've only seen Large White and Small White butterflies in the garden recently, and one Small Tortoiseshell butterfly today. I did see a Red Admiral butterfly fly past me up Tetbury Hill in Cirencester this afternoon.