Climbers

Our wisteria is almost fully in bloom now and the smell is intoxicating as you open the front door. A couple of times I noticed some huge black bees flying around but I realised they weren't bees at all they were the same bright metallic green beetles that I was watching last autumn. Two of them were walking around the patio for weeks and now that I've seen them fly, I know that the poor things were busy dying! They've taken to our wisteria and it's covered in them!

Paul asked me a few years ago, 'how come you hate cockroaches and not beetles?' We were in the garden in Kuwait looking at a black beetle that had a round body and long legs making it look as if it was on stilts. I said cockroaches 'skitter' and 'lurk' whereas there is something comical about beetles - and right on cue, for no reason at all, the beetle fell on it's back, legs in the air and couldn't get up!




















We've bought quite a lot of climbing plants this year. Two more climbers came home with us this weekend - a pink/purple clematis called Dr Ruppel and a yellow Rhyncospermum asiaticum which neither of us had seen before. Just as we were going to the checkout I literally gasped when I saw this bougianvillea, the reds and pinks are so intense. I looked at Mark, he looked at me and now it has pride of place on my balcony! So I'm a very happy bunny with my lemon tree that reminds me of the Med and my 'boogie' that reminds me of the garden in Dubai.

The back garden hasn't had much done to it this spring as we are extending the patio around the pool and waiting for work to begin. We've now heard that this will begin tomorrow so with luck there will be a slightly better view from the balcony soon! Can't say I'm looking forward to seeing builders in the garden though.