Give that blackbird a round of applause!

I spent ten minutes in the garden watching a blackbird battle with a slug - in truth it was a rather one sided affair as the slug put up little resistance. The bird kept slamming the slug against the paving stones again and again. Eventually it hopped off with its victim dangling from its beak. I almost stood up and cheered. That’s one down and only 10,000 to go. Is gardening making me more vindictive?

The garden is looking good at the moment and I noticed this cheery flower which always makes me think of sunny days - Halimium lasianthum subsp. formosum. It’s a small shrub about 3 feet tall and covered in these bright yellow and red flowers It loves sun and dry conditions. A candidate for any Mediterranean garden.

In contrast there are the opening fronds of Osmunda regalis, the Royal Fern. I grow it in a pot with a saucer underneath as this fern likes damp conditions and flourishes near water and in bog gardens. It’s also known as the Flowering Fern because the tightly folded young fronds, green at first fading to brown, look like flowers rising above the older foliage. A quiet beauty.