Of Hawkmoths and Drag Queen Knock-Offs

 First things first, the leading photo in this post is to address the disappointment of no actual sunset in yesterday's Summer Solstice post.  Poor Mr Tonking was so looking forward to it, so I hope this Big Gay Sunset (thank you, Jon) from out of my pit nest boudoir window on the 19th will suffice?

Now, on to the titular moths and knock-offs, also from the 19th:

This hummingbird hawkmoth (and friend/partner) was drinking nectar from the last of the Jasmine flowers.

This was the best shot I could get as they were zipping around so quickly.

There are some better photos back in 2020 and 2015.

While I was papping moths, this noseybonk squirrel came to see what I was up to.

It then had a look at a carved wooden owl...

... before climbing up an old fence post to get a better view of proceedings.

Bored of the moths and squirrel, I headed back to the paysho and spied this leafcutter bee on a blackberry bush.  The rolled up circle of leaf is not from the blackberry, rather it is from The Mother's 'Gertrude Jekyll' climbing rose.  She will not be pleased when she notices the 'hole-punched' leaves...

Sentry foxgloves

The June garden

My favourite red snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus)

 

And what is this?  Could it be the hatching of baby drag queens?

Not quite.

This Callistemon is as close as I can get to Dinah's Drag Queen (Syzygium wilsonii)

 

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The following photos are from today (except for the final one - that's from the 18th):

The Callistemon in full bloom earning its nickname as the bottlebrush plant

An Hippeastrum that Inexcuseable rescued from her work a year or so ago and gave to me to look after.  It was a rather sad and neglected bulb in a tiny pot when I got it, and now look at it!

Those Irises and Philadelphus that jumped in Car and forced me to take them home last year.

Right in the centre of this photo is something I've been waiting for for two years...

... an Arum lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) inflorescence!  I 'appropriated' some rhizomes from Inexcuseable's garden before she moved, and this one has obviously made itself at home.

Another of Car's passengers from that fateful trip last year: Digitalis parviflora 

(I'm hoping those little buds open up into gorgeous chocolate-coloured blooms)

Too early to tell what colour they'll be yet.

Up at the allotment the shed strangling loganberry is cropping like mad!

I got half a punnet at the weekend, but this is the first full one.  They are delicious!

(The really purpley ones, anyway - the more red ones will make your bum wink)

This might say something about me, but this unassuming iris is my very favourite out of all irises, and has been for years - since drawing some while I was in art school.

It's called Iris foetidissima - the Stinking Iris (because its crushed leaves smell rather beefy, apparently).

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 Now, I hope you are all snapping away in your own gardens/courtyards/balconies/window boxes/salad drawers ready for the Garden Photos Event later in the year?  And remember to hunt for old photos of previous gardens - or your current one if you haven't moved house for aeons - for a special 'Gardens Past' exhibit (you can all thank Dinah for this little extra).  Oh, and I want your Terrifying Triffidery too!

 I'll put up an official reminder next month, but for anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about, here's a link to the last one.