Today it is overcast, grey, and now the rain has arrived; a sign of the weather to come: dull and drab! However, yesterday, around midday, the sun shone and it was warm. The ivy flowers, which have been closed since they appeared a few weeks ago, suddenly were open. Open for business!
Warm sunshine, Bright at the top of the hedge -- Movement there!
Butterflies and bees feeding there, On the blooming ivy flowers -- A true sign of autumn.
Ivy! Such a maligned plant in a garden, and yet it is so important for our pollinators!
I can’t resist adding this last photo of 3 Small Tortoiseshell butterflies (Aglais urticae) on one of our dwarf Buddleia (Buzz Velvet Red).
Not long now until the Autumn Equinox!
A Different View 
I wrote a comment but it is not there, and so I will write again here!
I am delighted, Ashley, that you have the wisdom to recognize the important of ivy in your beautiful garden.
The scent of the flowers is drifting into the house, all the pollinators love it, it is a lovely home for the small birds, and in the drab winter days lots and lots of green lifting our spirit. I planted over 100 yards of ivy, and I love it.
Thank you, Ashley, for writing about ivy and for the pictures!
Joanna
Joanna, sometimes I wish wish I had a bigger garden, but then on a day when so many of these beautiful butterflies visited us, garden size doesn’t really matter, it’s what’s growing & flowering in it that counts! Thank you for your visit here. 💌🌹🙋♂️
You are more than welcome, Ashley!
Joanna
Lovely pictures, especially that of the butterflies on the flowers, Ashly!
I couldn’t resist that shot, Indira. Thanks for your visit. 🌹🙋♂️
Oh what a lovely Buddleia, and 3 Butterflies on it, fantastic. Yes Autumn is coming soon, here it is cooler now too. Still Autumn will be beautiful too with its’ colours. Hopefully it does not get too cold straight away.
Enjoy your garden- it looks beautiful!
Dear Ute, it is really quite a small garden but we try to pack it full of plants that pollinators will enjoy & of course we enjoy having them visit us too! Thank you for your visit. 🌹🙋♂️
Lovely garden photos, Ashley. I still haven’t bought my buddleia. I have a long section of fence overrun with ivy that I’m under constant pressure to get rid of as unsightly, but I love it. I prefer just to trim it back now and then to stop it overwhelming other plants.
I think at this time of the year the ivy is just the best plant to have in the garden, especially if you like butterflies. Of course, it’s good to have some warm sun too! Do search for those Buddleia, the dwarf variety; the one in the border performed better earlier on but now the one in the pot is doing better. Not sure why though.
Beautiful. Love your garden!
Dear Rosaliene, our garden is really very small which makes it manageable! Thanks for your visit. 🌹🙋♂️
Ashley, it’s not the size that counts 🙂
We had the same change in the weather, only we had no rain today. Yesterday it was stil warrm but today there was a chill wind and we didn’t reach the 20°C anymore.
But a lot of people were happy after the heat wave, and so was nature in general.
Lovely to see all these open flowers and the butterflies in your pictures Ashley.
Thanks, Rudi, most of what we planted in the garden is there to attract pollinators & when the sun shines it is lovely. The old hedge was there when we moved here and I’m so pleased we weren’t tempted to have it replaced by a fence! 🙋♂️
Your garden blooms beautifully! I love all the action in your garden and your words embracing it! Days grow shorter. Autumn. 🌷🍂🍃🌸
Dear Marina, thank you for your lovely comments. The older I get the more enjoyment I have in our little plot, a tiny piece of heaven. Yes, the equinox is not far away! 🤗🌹🙋♂️
I know exactly what you mean! 😉
✨🔆🌷
Have quite a few Red Admirals visiting my ivy at the moment. And buddleia is so popular with butterflies isn’t it. X
Usually folks have a big buddleia shrub which can be a bit untidy & so when I saw these dwarf shrubs I had to put them into our tiny garden. They have performed quite well even with the iffy summer. Thanks Sharon for your visit x. 🤗 🌹🙋♂️
What a beautiful post, Fraxinusama!! The verses are very descriptive, and the images of the ivy and butterflies are gorgeous! You’re very talented! The equinox is on the 23rd this year! Let’s savor the last days of early autumn!
Many thanks, Ed, for your encouraging comments. The summer this year has not been the best & so now in autumn the pollinators are having to catch up! The old hedge is looking good with its mix of privet, blackthorn, beech, holly & a couple of escaped pyracanthas (firethorns). I love it, even though it is now about 7ft high! The equinox is not far off & another shift in the light. Keep well. I’ll write soon. 🙏🙋♂️
I really enjoyed seeing your beautiful garden! I especially loved the butterfly photos! Thank you for another wonderful post, Ashley.🌸🌷🦋🤗
Thank you, Jennifer, for your lovely comments. We have to make the most of what we have, in the present, for today the skies are grey again & it’s raining steadily. No butterflies to record. 😢 However, another shift in the wheel of the year is coming, the autumn equinox on the 23rd of September, so now we can prepare for another celebration of the Earth. 🤗🌹🙋♂️
Lovely Photos, Ashley! Beautiful post! ❤
Thank you Cheryl for your visit & lovely comment. 🌹🙋♂️
My pleasure! 🙂
Wonderful photos 👍well taken 😲
Thank you, Priti, for your visit & lovely comment. 🌹🙋♂️
Wow! What a lovely post with awesome pictures. Butterflies and fireflies have fascinated me since childhood. Thank you, Ashley for lovely shots from your garden.
Many thanks, Kaushal for your wonderful comments. 🙏🙏
The Ivy does attract the bees late into the autumn. I have some near my compost bins and when I’m putting material in them I can hear a constant buzzing on a sunny day.
Ivy is just the best! I love it in the garden. Thanks Graham, for dropping by. 🙋♂️
What a truly tranquil spot to enjoy the much-needed sunshine. Last month we had a chance to explore County Down on a few separate trips, and I was utterly blown away by how beautiful Northern Ireland really is. Can’t wait to return. Thanks for sharing and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
Thank you for visiting my blog & your lovely comment. If you check some of my older posts you should find other posts about Northern Ireland. 🙋♂️
In Germany these butterflies are called “Little Fox”
*
Ich liebe es, den Schmetterlingen zuzuschauen, wenn sie um die Blüten flattern und sich darauf niederlassen.
Danke für diese herrlichen Fotos!
Sonnige Spätsommergrüße von Rosie
Rosie, that is a very apt name for this rather skittish butterfly. Thank you for your lovely comments. I had to use Google Translate; sorry, I don’t speak German 🌹🙋♂️
That was the first butterfly whose name I learned “Little Fox” as a child because there were so many of them in my grandma’s garden.
Those butterflies are so colorful and beautiful! What a joyful sight.
Dear Bridgette, thank you for your visit to my blog. Soon they will all be gone & the garden will become dull & drab for a few months. But that is the nature of the changing seasons & so we can look forward to them returning next year bringing joy with them. 🌹🙋♂️
Agreed. I’ve got only one pumpkin left on the vine and then I’ll let it all become covered in falling leaves. A time of rest.
It is still mild in London so my little roses and geraniums are still flowering, you have a lovely garden.
We have a tiny garden now, especially compared to those we had when we lived in the south of England. More manageable, now that we are older. Small is also beautiful & even a small balcony can be filled with colour in pots. Thank you, Charlotte for visiting my blog & your lovely comments. 🌹🙋♂️
Downsizing is a good idea, gardening takes up a lot of my parents time.