Melliferous

Most of this mild autumn day was spent walking around some woodlands with two of Alex's college friends, who've recently started up a countryside management business. I was advising them on woodland survey techniques. It actually proved to be an interesting visit, as we found two areas of pristine medieval ridge-and-furrow in the woodland and were able to examine the effects of grazing in woodland by a small group of Oxford Sandy and Black pigs.

The sun emerged as were were leaving and when we arrived home the garden was gently humming with honey-bees, feeding on the melliferous flowers of Sedum 'Autumn Joy' and Erysimum 'Bowles Mauve'. The latter species has been in flower constantly since May and is a magnet for all sorts of insects - definitely worth growing in every garden. Strangely, we've hardly seen any honey bees until recently, though bumble-bees have been present in profusion.