Late summer

The garden is entering its late summer phase as the mulleins and geraniums fade, to be replaced by the soft blue flowers of Eryngium, Echinops and Perovskia, the pinks of Lavatera 'Barnsley', everlasting pea and marjoram, and the yellows and oranges of golden-rod, Rudbeckia and nasturtium, all punctuated with dark-purple Clematis viticella and Allium cernuum. Then number of bumblebees has also increased dramatically as the males leave their nests, but hoverflies remain fairly sparse, with little sign of any major migration.