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The hum of a still summer garden
On a hot, breathless afternoon, when even the breeze seems to have given up, your garden becomes a theatre of small dramas. Stand still for a moment. Listen. The air hums. Lavender spikes are thick with bees right now, their bodies dusted gold with pollen. They work methodically, flower to flower, oblivious to the heat. […]
The first butterfly is here
You see it before you quite register what it is. A flicker of orange and brown low over the grass, then gone. The small tortoiseshell is often the first butterfly you’ll spot in Richmond upon Thames, emerging on warm February days or, more reliably, in March. It spent winter tucked in a shed or hollow […]
The moths at the window on a summer night
You leave the kitchen light on after washing up, and within minutes they arrive. Pale wings tap against the glass. Some hover, some settle, some circle in that erratic flight that looks like bad navigation but is perfect purpose. Richmond upon Thames hosts over three hundred moth species. Most never trouble your vision. They pollinate […]
The garden hum you never think to name
You notice the roses first. The climbers at Marble Hill, the borders along Petersham Road, the pink flush in your neighbour’s front patch. Peak season means colour, yes, but also sound. Stand still for a moment and the hum arrives. Honeybees working the petals, hoverflies hovering, mining bees slipping into the earth beneath. Most of […]
A Peacock butterfly and the allium it circled three times
You see them often enough in summer, the Peacock butterflies with their four false eyes staring from russet wings. But watching one work is different. This one hovered above an allium in a Twickenham front garden yesterday afternoon. The purple globe swayed slightly in the breeze. The butterfly landed, folded its wings, then opened them […]
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