The last week of July continued to be mostly dry and sunny. The bees flock to the evening primrose flowers first thing in the morning before they wilt. As you can see the pollen is very stringy and sticky.
It’s now the turn of the peach coloured roses to bloom.
The golden rod self seeds everywhere.
However, it is a cheery looking plant.
It is also very popular with a wide variety of pollinators.
The yukka is making its presence known.
The sunshine has brought the butterflies out. There are a lot of white ones, but only this one stopped for a photo. I think it is a small white as opposed to a large white or a marbled white. We always used to just call them all cabbage whites due to their fondness for cabbages as caterpillars.
A red admiral butterfly was trying to decide which was their better side, this one?
This one?
Or perhaps I shall pose on the red rose.
The thistle-like knapweed was proving irresistable to this bee.
I think it is a common carder bee, Bombus pascuorum. They gather moss and dry grass for their nests.
Knapweed is similar in appearance to thistle, but without the prickly bits.
The bladder campion flowers have faded away leaving the dried calyxes.
The bird baths (and hedgehog water dishes) needed topping up regularly and were much in demand. Splish splash this young blackbird was taking a bath.
They became painfully aware that they were being observed.
A queue was forming.
Finally the robin got a go.
Although the mess the blackbird made of the bath water ruffled his feathers.
Finally some thunderclouds appeared in the distance.
July went out with a bang and some splashes.
Still, the garden needed it.
Just a drop or two.
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The latest “lawn weed” to flower is the sweet smelling Yarrow, Achillea millefolium. As you might guess it was named after Achilles; apparently he used it to staunch his wounds on the battlefield (and we all know how that worked out for him). However, it is claimed to have medicinal properties and is apparently edible. It was also used instead of hops at one time to make beer, you can find a recipe 
The foxgloves are fully flowering now.
They are enticing bees with their hairy, spotty landing strips.
I tried in vain to get a decent photo of the swifts as they circled and screamed above my head. This was the only shot I got out of many many photos of empty skies.
The young magpie was more accommodating, still begging food from the same sized parent.
Feathers were ruffled and there was embarrassment all round as the magpie interrupted the wood pigeon’s bath.
We also have a dishful of juvenile starlings.
Our regular hedgehog visitor is still regularly visiting, but there is no sign of any hoglets sadly. A few years ago the lawn was full of little hedgehogs running around my feet. The garden is very hedgehog friendly so their decline is clearly down to other environmental factors. There has been a new housing estate built nearby and climate change is affecting their hibernation habits meaning they wake when there is not sufficient natural food to support them.
This seems to be popular with the 
Competing with the clematis in the crinkly petal stakes is the poppy.
The sparrowhawk helped herself to one of the pigeons.
A carrion crow checked out the carcass, but despite its name decided it preferred suet pellets.
At least two hedgehogs have been regularly visiting the hedgehog feeder throughout each night.
The wood pigeons have been pairing off amidst much billing and cooing.
I think it is fair to say that the trees are now fully in leaf.
Some are in flower like the Midlands Hawthorn.
The white lilac always flowers after the purple lilac for some reason.
The ceanothus is still attracting the bees.
As are the geraniums.
Wild strawberries are blossoming.
They grow amongst the Herb Robert, all over the paths!
Somewhat more flamboyant is this peony.
The dog roses indicate that summer is very nearly here, along with the sound of screaming swifts overhead.
#NoMowMay comes to an end with a dandelion seed head against a backdrop of germander speedwell.
The apple blossom fully blossomed.
The wet weather didn’t dampen the ardour of these courting hedgehogs.
The laburnum tree flowered spectacularly.
Sticking with the yellow theme, the greater celandine sprang up.
The geraniums are still enticing the bees.
The cotoneaster flowers seem to be a bigger draw for a variety of bees … 
… and bumblebees, mainly tree bumblebees.
Once again I took part in #NoMowMay to allow wildflowers, often derided as “lawn weeds” to grow providing an all you can eat buffet for bees and other pollinators. Who used to make daisy chains?
Who used to see if their friend liked butter by reflecting a butter cup under their chin to see if it glowed yellow?
Not sure what you do with germander speedwell other than sit back and enjoy the carpet of blue they create.
The plantain is growing well unhindered by the mower’s blades. The leaves make a soothing balm, there is a recipe
The lilac bloomed fully into flower, and scent, attracting this buff tailed bumblebee queen.
Before she moved onto a nearby dandelion.
The lilac also attracted a male orange tip butterfly, somewhat overexposed in the sunlight.
A speckled wood butterfly took the opportunity to sunbathe on the path and was much kinder to my poor photographic skills.
The apple blossom was blossoming.
The hairy footed flower bees are still out and about. This female was on the flowering currant.
The dwarf tulips in the planter by the hedgehog feeder survived the frost.
The Spanish 
White flowers are appearing on this little tree.
More white flowers courtesy of the Candy Tuft.
Mr and Mrs Blackbird seem to have stopped gathering nesting materials, I presume they are now sitting on some eggs. Here is Mr BB waiting for some more sultanas.
The apple blossom is just starting to appear.
However, although chilly, the days have mostly been sunny which has brought the insects out. Such as this bumblebee on the quince.
And this one on the forget-me-nots.
A favourite of pollinators, albeit unoccupied when I took the photo, dandelions are popping up everywhere. In this case it is growing among the aubretia.
The lilac flowers are shaping up nicely.
And the trees are sprouting green leaves.
The dwarf tulip dared to open out. We’ll see if another week of frosts slows the pace any.
There was also some sort of solitary bee covered in pollen on the white flowering shrubs.
The dog violets have started to flower. The violet ones are growing up through the cracks in the path.
The white violets are growing on the lawn.
This week the cherry plum tree is occupied by a blackbird and a robin. The blackbirds have been very busy collecting nesting material, I think they are creating a superstructure in the shrubbery.
The forsythia is a blaze of yellow.
And if you are feeling blue, the forget-me-nots are starting to flower.
I know you are eager to see how the lilac buds are progressing. The answer is very well.
As this post is so late you can have a bonus wren, mainly because I’m so pleased to have got a photo of one, even if it isn’t a very good one (photo that is, I’m sure the wren is very well behaved).
rambling ratz 