Regal Lilies - June 2020

After a couple of weeks where my photo shoot took place on a dark rainy day, this week I had a bright dry sunny day to shoot a few images in my own garden.

I started out with these Regal Lilies (Lilium regale) which had escaped the relentless munching of the Red Lily Beetles (Lilioceris lilii) and their larvae, unlike my Tiger Lilies (Lilium lancifolium) which had been completely destroyed.

Confrontation - June 2020

Talking of the Red Lily Beetle, there were still a few about, and were now doing their best to destroy both my Oriental and Asiatic Lilies.

Selfheal - June 2020

Weeds seemed to be gaining popularity in my garden this year, but some were quite pretty, like this Common Selfheal (Prunella vulgaris).

Houttuynia Cordata - June 2020

I've always classed Houttuynia (Houttuynia cordata) as a weed, as it spreads everywhere, and is difficult to contain. However, I've seen it for sale in garden centres, so maybe it's not a weed! I must admint that I like the flowers though.

Creeping Woodsorrel - June 2020

Creeping Woodsorrel (Oxalis corniculata) is definitely a weed, but again, it's quite a pretty one, so I usually let it do it's thing.

Oxalis Iron Cross - June 2020

To be honest, I thought the Creeping Woodsorrel was much prettier than this cultivated variety called 'Iron Cross' (Oxalis tetraphylla).

Grape Hyacinth Pods - June 2020

Having not had much time to garden this year, there were a distinct lack of flowers to photograph - hence me showing you weeds! However, I was quite interested in the structural qualities of some of the spent flowers from earlier in the year. For instance, these Grape Hyacinth (Muscari) seed pods looked great, and made an interesting subject.

Sensation Seed Pods - June 2020

Similarly, the seed heads of the Allium 'Purple Sensation' (Allium hollandicum) added a bit of interest to an otherwise empty area of the garden...

Star of Persia Decay - June 2020

...as did the decaying flower heads of the Allium 'Star of Persia' (Allium christophii) plants.

Awaking Agapanthus - June 2020

Thankfully, there were new flowers on the way though, with some Agapanthus flower buds beginning to open, albeit very slowly.

Achillea Cassis Buds - June 2020

There were also some Achillea 'Cassis' (Achillea millefolium) flower buds beginning to form, so it looked like I'd have at least a bit of colour on my patio for the summer months.

Horrible Horsetail - June 2020

Finally, going back to weeds, the Horsetail Grass (Equisetum telmateia) had got out of hand in my garden this year. It was a real problem, and there doesn't seem to be an easy way of getting rid of it completely. Lots of concrete may be the solution eventually, but in the meantime, pulling it out by hand is the only way to clear it!

So this week I went with Regal Lilies as my Image of the Week simply because I was extremely glad to see them survive the onslaught of the Red Lily Beetles...