Tour of Threave House 7th August 2016

Having visited Threave Gardens before, we put our names down for a guided tour of the house this time. The name Threave is most likely derived from the Old Welsh Tref, meaning homestead.

 

 

 

The estate is one of the most diverse properties in the care of the National Trust for Scotland, supporting farming, forestry, horticulture, wildlife conservation and outdoor recreation. The National Trust has its School of Practical Gardening at Threave and provides residential courses here. Parts of the house are excluded from the tour because residential students live in flats in the house!

The 3000 acre estate was bought by William Gordon, a Liverpool businessman, who then decided to build a summer home for his large family. Threave House was designed by architect Charles Kinnear and is based on Castle Fraser in Aberdeenshire. It was built in the early 1870's from red sandstone. It has an impressive drum tower, housing the entrance to the house and if you look closely at the front door it has no keyhole! You can only enter if someone inside lets you in!

 

 

 

 

Love the thistle adornments on the doors!

 

A formal staircase then leads you from the entrance hall up into the remainder of the house.

 

 

Many of the rooms have been restored to what they looked like in the 1930's.

 

 

 

 

 

We then went downstairs to see the kitchen area.....

 

 

Many of the artefacts in this area have been donated to Threave House, but are what would have been in a kitchen of the time.

William Gordons grandson gave the house, gardens and estate to the National Trust for Scotland.

Although William was responsible for a formal garden in front of the house, the impressive gardens at Threave now are a series of gardens created over many years by students.

Seeing inside the house adds another piece to the jigsaw that is Threave. It is a house with quite a cosy, homely feel to it and one that would be a super summer home for a family.

July Wildlife Sightings from a garden in Annan

The variety of birds in the garden is still quite disappointing again this month. Summer is always a quiet time for birds but the number of sparrows is encouraging  - they seem to enjoy sitting next to one another around the top of the holly bush! Some baby sparrows are even still being fed by parents.

We have enjoyed watching the goldfinches feeding too. 

 

 

Monthly max of birds is as follows:

Blackbird - 1 Male, 1 female, 2 young

Blue tit - 1 young

Collared dove - 1

Dunnock - 2 adult, 2 young

Goldfinch - 4 adult, 1 young

House sparrow - 30 adults and young

Rook - 1

Starling - 8

Swift - 45

Woodpigeon - 2

Wren - 1

Moths have finally started to appear in greater numbers this month:

3rd July saw 64 moths of 32 different species.

11th July saw 43 moths of 22 different species.

16th July saw 80 moths of 41 different species.

20th July saw 58 moths of 33 different species.

25th July saw 72 moths of 26 different species.

3 new micro moths for the garden this year in July are Archips podana, Spilonota ocellana and Carcina quercana.

 

 

We were out mothing one evening this month when we heard a loud rustling in the hedge, and there was our hedgehog again! We don't see it very often but it is lovely when we do. We watched it wandering up and down the path before it disappeared back under the hedge and then all we could hear was loud snuffling. Surprise, surprise it then returned with a young hoglet! (Have now learned that a young hedgehog is known as a hoglet.) The pair of them wandered about for a short while before disappearing again.

With the sunny days we have finally had this month, and the blooming of the buddleias, the butterflies have started to appear too!

Green-veined white - 1

Large white - 3

Peacock - 1

Red Admiral - 1

Small tortoiseshell - 3

Small white - 1

 

There are loads of bees around however, which is lovely to see.We have seen white/buff-tailed bees, red-tailed bees, honey bees, carder bees and wool-carder bees in numbers that are increasing.

DGERC species to look out for:

 

Japanese knotweed

Fallopia japonica is probably the most well-known invasive non-native plant in the UK. Originally from E. Asia it is a tall bamboo-like plant that grows in dense thickets. The stems grow in a zig-zag fashion and the leaves are large and shield-shaped with a flat base. In late summer they produce a froth of white flowers. The dead stems persist into winter, regrowing the following year from underground rhizomes. Efforts are ongoing to control it.

 

Grass of parnassus

Parnassia palustris is not actually a grass, but a saxifrage! It flowers from Jun to Sep often growing in groups in boggy areas. The flowers grow on the top of an unbranched stem, 6-12 inches in height. They are white with 5 petals, and each petal is grooved with greenish veins.

 

American skunk cabbage

Lysichiton americanum is an invasive non-native species with large yellow flowers (can be up to 45cm) resembling Wild Arum. They can be identified by the strong odour they emit - from which they get their common name. They can grow up to 1.5m high and can make dense stands, overshadowing native species. Often associated with wetland sites, but can be found in other soils too.

 

Common soldier beetle

Rhagonycha fulva is the commonest of about 40 different soldier beetles in the UK. It is a narrow, oblong-shaped beetle about 1cm long, orange-red in colour, with dark tips at the ends of their wing cases. There are other similar red soldier beetles but none have the dark tips to the wing cases. They are usually found feeding on Hogweed or other umbellifers during the summer - often in large numbers. Their habit of copulating on these flower heads has given them the alternative name of Hogweed Bonking Beetles!

Send any records to DGERC.

Thanks to ARKive.org and DGERC for photos.

Floral Favourites July 2016

We are now half way through the year! How quickly time goes.

It was a very showery start to the month - and very heavy showers at times! Some of the flowers in the garden have already gone over and it is time to cut back the dead flowers and foliage. The compost bins are going to fill up quite quickly. It is also time to prune things like the weigela as they finish flowering - I should have probably have done it already but..... There has been masses of growth and it seems a shame to cut it all back, but if I don't we shall get no new growth for the flowers to bloom on next year.

 

 

The sweet peas are just beginning to flower - the smell is just delicious. Couldn't wait to pick the first bunch to put in the kitchen window where they sit in the sun smelling fantastic.

 

 

The hydrangeas are also coming up to flower. Ours in the front garden is pink and has huge blooms. I cut out some of the main stems each year and it seems to respond appreciatively with numerous huge blooms.

 

 

The cistus continue to flower profusely with their poppy-like blooms. We have a pink one but I like the white one with its dark blotches and golden centres. The flowers only last a day but they just keep coming!

 

 

Many of the flowers on the rockery have gone over and now need trimming and tidying up.

Our buddleias - in their shades of purple, blue and white have now come into flower and a few days of nice weather have brought out the butterflies - as well as the bees - to enjoy the flowers. The smell of the buddleia is almost overpowering in its intensity. The moths love them at night too!

 

 

The Himalayan Honeysuckle (Leycesteria Formosa) is also just about in full bloom now. The white flowers droop in clusters with purple bracts and fruits. I always cut this right back in the spring  - if I didn't I dread to think how big it would grow!! The birds love the fruit and consequently there are always self sets sprouting around the garden.

 

Among the borders the penstemons have been displaying their lovely colours. I like these flowers more and more as time goes on. The bees love them too, climbing right into the blooms and then backing out to move to the next bloom.

 

 

Many flowers in the garden have been a real attraction to the bees - which we are really pleased to see as we planted them for just that reason! Lambs lugs in particular, have attracted a new species of bee for us. The Wool carder bee is moving northwards and has definitely reached Dumfries & Galloway!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 July was a very colourful month.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The teasels have suffered as the month has gone on however. They are so tall and heavy with blooms that they are keeling over and we have had to tie them up. Not easy to do when they are covered in vicious prickles! The bees still love them though and sit on many of the blooms for ages.

 

 

We have had some lovely blooms among our wild flowers this month too. I keep an eye on the rosebay willowherb as its fluffy seed heads go everywhere if I don't dead head them quickly enough. I do like the common toadflax - for both its form and colour.

 

 

The stars this year, however, have been the red poppies that have formed a fantastic clump from the Grow Wild seeds we planted. I do hope they spread lots of seeds around!

 

 

July

The flowers in June couldn't wait to bloom,

All in a rush and jostling for room,

But now that initial flush is past

Calm has descended, but a spell has been cast.

They've drawn us in, we can't wait for more

Beautiful blooms all around the door.

The scent of the sweet peas, the roses too

Act like a drug, we're addicts through and through!

We can't get enough, every day wanting more

The sights and smells are grand to be sure.

The height of summer is finally here

We've waited so long, let's give a great cheer.

The bees are humming, the butterflies flutter

People are smiling, no need to mutter.

Enjoy summer, make the most of every day

It doesn't last long, Autumn will soon be on its way!



 

Old Lady at Canonbie Moth trapping

Canonbie had been chosen as a host location because there are very few moth records from this part of the county. With the help of Mark Pollitt of DGERC, we borrowed traps and set them in different gardens around the village with the permission of volunteer villagers. We were helped by Joanne & Stuart at North Lodge B&B who acted as hosts and local contact.

 

Next morning, we returned to North Lodge to meet up with local moth experts and recorders to empty the traps, identify and record them for the county and national database.

 

Some of the locals stayed as they returned their traps to see what had been in their trap. They were surprised by the number and variety of moths and were not afraid to say they had been fascinated by the effect the light had attracting the insects to the boxes.

 

 

We caught so many species that it took some time to empty the first 3 traps and although nothing special turned up there were many species not previously recorded.

Large Yellow Underwings comfy in their egg boxes

 

 

A number of species were saved to a 'tank' for viewing but not many individual photos were taken.

 

 

As we started on the last few traps excitement was stirred by an announcement of 'There is an Old Lady in this trap!'

I have never seen so many experts stand up and peer into a moth trap in unison before.

 

 

The moth is listed as scarce on the D&G moth website. They do not usually come to light traps and therefore are rarely seen.

Everyone went to fetch their cameras!

The initial snaps were through plastic pots but before we finished many wanted a picture of the moth on a more natural background. This was the time when the restful moth decided to make a break for it and flew into a woodpile hiding place.

 

 

 

After 4 hours all the traps were finally emptied and everything packed away. Many thanks were given to our hosts for providing a space to meet up despite being a busy day at the B&B.

Many thanks go to the members of Eskdale Gardening Group for acting as volunteers and the experts for coping with the large numbers of moths which needed identification.

 

The full lists of species will be circulated to volunteers as soon as the County Moth Recorder has verified the identification of the difficult micro moths.

 

 

Butterflies at Birkshaw Forest 31 July 2016

Butterfly Conservation have an annual visit to the region to check on the Essex Skipper population in Birkshaw Forest. The weather forecast was for sunshine and showers so we set off with fingers crossed that the showers would stay away and the butterflies would fly.

 

 

When the grey clouds parted the intrepid spotters were treated to glimpses of butterflies (and Moths!) on the wing but conditions meant there were not the prolific numbers we would expect at this time of year.

One or two of the species cooperated and landed in convenient locations to be photographed or inspected more closely.

The Peacock Butterfly sat still and the lizard was a bonus.

Ragwort had a few 6 spot Burnet moths and numerous juicy caterpillars of the Cinnabar Moth.

 

 

 

We managed to catch a Skipper or two

and confirmed that the Essex Skipper is still in the location.

 

 

We were pleased to find a few other things on our wander and after a break for lunch we all dispersed before the afternoon showers arrived.