I am quite shocked at how few insects we seem to have in the garden this summer.  Bees seem to be doing well, which may in part be due to our pollinating bee logs and bug boxes, but butterflies and ladybirds have all but vanished.  We have plenty of ivy covered logs, which is meant to be a haven for ladybirds, but a quick inspection found none.  At least there was one on the clmbing beans.

Purple peas may not be the tastiest, but the pods are stunning.  Its a shame there are not any delicious purple varieties.

Purple beans on the other hand are very good to eat, particularly the climbing variety Blauhilde.  The poor weather in the early summer has held ours back somewhat, which should mean there will be some left when we get back from our summer holiday.  There's nothing worse than returning from holiday just as the beans are going over.

Flowers used to be covered in brightly coloured butterflies at this time of year.  This year, even the spikey verbena bonarienses is butterflyless.  Hopefully it is just the wind, and once it drops they will reappear.

Sadly the wind doesn't seem to have the same effect on the cabbage white butterfly.  A hurricane wouldn't stop them laying their eggs on my brassicas.

The downpours of the last few days have pummeled the peas and sweet peas.  They look forlorn and bedraggled and are in danger of toppling over.

But most plants have loved it.  It is as if they were waiting for a good soaking before really getting going.  The sweetcorn, courgettes and squashes have doubled in size in a week.  Unfortuantely so have the weeds!

After a long wait of 120 days we are now eating our first peas.  The pods are not as full as they could be due to the lack of rain, but they still taste divine.  We are also starting to eat sugar snap peas which seem to have coped better with the dry weather.

And we are growing a few heritage peas from Ryton, which look stunning.  This variety is called Victoria.  I'm looking forward to see what Beltony's Blue and Lancashire Lad look like.