Ladybirds need antidepressants too

Red spotted ladybird hiding in st johns wort and black bamboo

Another fine spring day, calm, dry and mild, (T.G) as mum would say.The forecast is of course rotten for the rest of the week. I think it's Murphys Law, you can only have two fine days to a weeks worth of rain. Anyway after arsing around the house like a zombie all morning I got myself together to do some weeding,(nothing like the threat of rubbish weather for the rest of the week to get you motivated) out in the herbaceous border in the veg garden where roses are badly in need of pruning and perennials need a major chopping back.

I don't believe in this big tidy up we are encouraged to do in the Autumn.I believe in leaving lots of safe places for insects to hibernate for the winter. I know lots of people who clean up the garden, cut everything back and then make insect hotels to keep valuable hover flies, particular types of beetles and of course ladybirds hibernating in the garden over the winter !! Is anybody else seeing a bit of irony in this?! So I dont do a big tidy up, especially not in the border next to the vegetable garden until the end of February or into March. I'm trying to let the insects slumber in peace.Some unenlightened soul will no doubt pass comment on the decaying jungle of twigs and leaves in your garden,(probably over christmas when you made the mistake of inviting them over for dinner) just keep a superior glint in your eye. You know what you are doing!!

How many can you see? after I took this I found two more in the photo!

Today I began my clean up, and my untidiness through Autumn and winter was rewarded by lots of sightings of yellow and red spotted ladybirds in the twiggy remains of last years perennials. Mostly it has to be said in the st johns wort leading me to believe that ladybirds suffer from S.A.D. too and probably spend their hibernation sucking sap from the oldest known antidepressant in the world.Is it like moving to Amsterdam for the winter I wonder? maybe there a lesson in there for the rest of us...

Hellebore in all its glory

As an added bonus I found a hellebore flowering beneath the black bamboo. This is the first time it has bravely attempted to stick a few flowers up since I put it in, so it must be settling in and getting whatever it needs from the soil afterall( Igave it up as a failure last year). Maybe if I occassionally gave it a bit of compost and cut it back like I'm suppost to it would reward me even more, but I might spoil it then! It's a pity the flowers hang down so much, it's really a plant that needs to be planted up higher for you to appreciate it.But if you are looking for a spring flower you can cheaply sow them from seed and they are tough little reliable plants. Under trees, or taller shading companions is where they like to be, and apparently they will grown on heavy clay soil and put up with wilful neglect-what more could you ask for?