year's highlights...

[paddy]

Well, the weather was ----, but it was the second full year of the garden i designed in 06, and there's been some real results. Might be good to compile a thread of triumphs for 08....
Here's a short list:
Hummingbird hawk moth on red valerian - all afternoon, and it even posed for pics; privet hawk moths on nicotiana - again, some good shots; southern hawker dragonfly egg-laying on the log pile after giving me a CIA-like all-over check, including staring into my eyes; exuviae of a broad-bodied chaser, found on a typha leaf; the discovery of the wonderful world of moths; more species of bee, bee impersonators, hoverflies than i could keep up with; the re-emergence of all the perennials i grew from seed the winter before; the discovery of verbena bonariensis as the champion butterfly plant; the cultivation of seed from plants i grew from seed; a tremendous 'crop' of frog spawn and a garden-full of froglets in September, and newts moving in at last; a frog joining me on the bench one afternoon as i just sat; goldfinches feeding on niger feeders as soon as i moved them away from the other feeders; long-tailed tits all over the place; tremendous compost, thanks to the ants that moved into the bin and turned it all summer; nectar plants growing from March til now (November); starting to give talks on wildlife gardening to a number of garden plants, and winning some converts....
I could go on, but i won't. Your turn!

[KeenTeen17]

well I have 4 collared doves on my bird feeder. but the highlights of this years garden would have to be clematis we have that flowered very well, the hydrangeas flowering very nicely despite the rain and a lovely crop of berries on the cotoneaster sp. and another highlight would be a hyacinth and primrose in a plant pot start flowering in the middle of November, the buddleia was pretty bad this year with only bees and the odd orange underwing moth eating it at night. but I had a small tortoiseshell - just once!

[Bouncytigger]

My DRAGONFLIES have to be the highlight for me!!!

Even at my two small garden ponds so i must be doing something right

I had regular visits from a female broad- bodied chaser who looked like she was doing alot of egg laying in the larger ponds so thats got to be exciting for the next few years with the nymphs developing!

Also had visits from a common Darters male and female!!

On the bird front hightlight have to be my first GOLDFINCHES,GOLDCRESTS and BULLFINCHES

FROGS next year and i will BOUNCE for a MONTH non stop!!!!!

[Jez]

My highlight had to be cuckoo flower growing in my garden!

In Naomi's garden it had to be 1 goldfinch on my finger. 1 kingfisher sitting her fence and 1 mother duck which would come in every day with 10 fluffy adorable little chicks, so cuuuute!

[Susie]

So many highlights, here are a few from my garden which I too started in 2006. Watching large red damselfly nymphs emerging from the pond I built last year. Finding a dragonfly nymph in the same pond (I don't know which type yet).

Watching an orange tip butterfly laying eggs on garlic mustard. Finding brown hairstreak eggs on the blackthorn (found even more this morning in a different place in the garden!). All the other butterflies that visited the garden too last summer, especially the brown hairstreaks, purple hairstreaks and common blue.

Watching a sparrowhawk catch a fledgling starling and eat it on the lawn. The family of nuthatches.

The bees, of all shapes and sizes, but particularly the pleasure of watching the wool carder bees.

The summer flowers are still blooming (just) and now the winter flowers are starting too. Viburnum and shrubby honeysuckle are coming into bloom and smell divine.