Tiger Tiger burning bright

I saw this lovely fella tonight on my nightly check of the garden having a little drink from our Joe Pye Weed. It was so spectacular I got a bit obsessed trying to work out what it was. It  had the most gorgeous ochre colouring under it's wings, and when it opened it's wings out fully it looked more like a butterfly.

 

Eventually I think I found it. It looks like a Jersey Tiger Moth. It's a 'scarce' moth apparently - it only lives in the South West and weirdly here in London too.

I put a lot of effort trying to  grow plants that insects like, and I love it when it pays off!

Fence part 2

I know that you've all been on tenterhooks to find out how the fence turned out. Well wait no more.

We painted it with a dark grey decking paint, then ran wires across from the top of the fence to the house in a sort of loose canopy or pergola, using sailing turnbuckles to tighten the wire. Honeysuckle, and kiwi should eventually scramble over it.

The wiring took a few hours but couldn't have been easier.

Well it's been a while since I last updated this - I've had my hands full finishing a TV project. But now I'm back - with a garden that, despite this weird summer is actually not looking that bad.

More to come, but for the moment here's a picture of something I really didn't expect to find in a London garden with no water anywhere near it. Isn't he a stunner?