Even the wildflowers are wilting but not this impressive display of Umbellifers. 

 

Fluffy.

 

 Southern England is parched. This patch of baked earth is usually a pond with ducks. Beyond, the wheat has been harvested early. Officially we are in a period of "prolonged dry weather" with the accompanying hosepipe bans. The next legislative measure will be to declare drought which is what it is.

 March/April/May were warm, sunny and dry, barely a third of average rainfall in the South. We had flaming June in May, the first heatwave. Early June was cooler with some rain followed by successive heatwaves and no rain at all.

 What I have noticed in gardens and the countryside is that many plants have flowered several weeks earlier than 'normal' and for shorter periods than 'usual'. For example the borders at the music school look like it's late August rather than the end of July.

 I have always taken the view that plants native and naturalised in the UK will have seen a lot of weather: scorching, freezing, drought and deluge. And will cope with it. That is still the case but I observe that some species are now at the margins of their survival zone heat-wise. The definition of "hardy" used to have as much to do with winter cold which is not really a consideration anymore.

 I am bound to say the past five years reflect the predictions made concerning global warming a couple of decades ago. Saharan temperatures will shift northwards across the Mediterranean and Northern Europe will experience heat more like the Med.

Postscript Later today I read that the Environment Agency has indeed declared drought in much of central and southern England. A couple of areas in Wales already have drought status. Wales in drought??   

 

 

Butterflies seem to be flourishing in this long, hot summer.

 

 Runner Beans ramping- these are the old variety 'Scarlet Emperor'.

 

 A day trip to the North Kent coast. Walking from Chestfield and Swalecliffe to Whitstable I was pleased to see lots of Hog Fennel (Peucedanum officinale) which is only found in a few locations in the UK in Kent and Essex. Tankerton Slopes as seen above is said to be the largest colony and it seems to be particularly abundant this year. 

Six-Spot Burnet on Field Scabious.

 

The south is parched -particularly on chalk- but the wildflowers persist.

 The Globe Thistles and the Sea Hollies look like they might be related...

...but they belong to different genera: Echinops and Eryngium.

 Both are much visited by bees.

 

 The Jersey Tiger is no longer confined to the southernmost parts of England. It's range is extending northwards; I see quite regularly in London and Hertfordshire. The striped forewing is striking; the orange underwing is spectacular when it unfurls in flight.

 

 A mixed herbaceous border is manna for pollinators.

 

 A few months ago I planted three small pots of Fennel in the herb garden I made at the music school. Now they're rampant! Fennel will tough it out on poor, parched ground but here it grows in a rich loamy compost that's watered regularly. The difference is plain to see.

 

Great Mullein (Verbascum thapsus). Prolific self-seeder in sunny spots at the music school.  

 

 I think this is a Green-veined White though it only has a tinge of green and they are usually found in damp habitats feeding on the wild Crucifers not Lavender.

  Seeing a good many Gatekeepers in the grounds of the music school at the moment. The time of their emergence is generally round about now. The woodland walk with brambles is ideal habitat for them resembling as it does a woodland ride. The Marjoram in the borders is one of their favoured sources of nectar.

 

Comma

 Brimstone

 One side of this meadow area at the music school is grassy with flowers, the other is flowery with grasses. I treat the grassy side like the hay meadows of old and cut it at some point after midsummer. The flowery side is mass of Knapweeds at the moment which I will leave till they go to seed.

 I would like to say I got the scythe out but I used the brush cutter, then the strimmer, then the lawnmower...

 

 The white form of Rosebay Willowherb. Never seen in the wild, at least not by me but I do see it planted in gardens from time to time. The pink is definitely invasive, the white less so (it is said).