It might be an unwanted thug but.......

...the Russian Vine that is spilling over from the neighbours garden at the back and I am constantly hacking it back is in full flower at the moment and never in my life have I seen so many bees and hoverflies, there are quite literally thousands of them :thumb: So for that it can have a momentry reprieve (well the flowers can) and then it's getting hacked again :D

As well as that there are also a lot of ladybirds and butterflies in the garden, I've seen Red Admiral, Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells, Small Coppers, Meadow Browns, Speckled Woods, Brimstone, Holly Blue & Painted Ladies - fantastic...

 

Bilbo, I think it is admirable that you have that attitude towards Russian Vine. Let it do good, then hack it back. Well done you.

 

I hope you take a pic of it!!

 

Here you go, this is the monster!!!;

Pic 1 shows it spilling over the top of the hedge at the back of the veg patch.

Pic 2 shows where I keep the hedge cut to try and 'save' it

Pic 3 shows the VERY fast growing new shoots that have to cut back every 2 or 3 days!!!!

Pic 4 shows a close up of its flowers

As soon as the insects loose interest or the flowers go over its getting a 'hair cut', in the mean time I just have to keep on top of those pesky new shoots :D

 

That IS a pretty plant but I can see why you have to hack it back..... Man! Guess I won't be getting one of those!! Nice of you to leave it for the bees though! What a great buffet for them!!

 

Well on top of all the butterflies, thousands of bees and hoverflies and ladybirds I have now seen either a couple of crickets or grasshoppers in the garden :thumb:, I've seen and heard many hundreds before in the countryside but never in my garden. Not sure what species it was but it was about an inch and half long, straw coloured brown and with an orange tip to the end of its abdomen?

 

It looks pretty in full bloom. Makes the hedge look snow capped.

 

Just a cautionary comment. Have been invaded in the past by this plant and I would strongly reccomend you not to be too friendly towards it - it will consume all given the sort of weather we have experienced by simply smothering any other plant life around it.
The one at the back of my current garden currently climbs to 30ft or more on a nejghbour's tree - it is cut as soon as it encroaches.............

 

Hi barnaby....don't worry before it flowered it was getting cut back twice a week and I purposely cut out large pieces from the sides of the hedge to stop it smoothering it. Once the flowering has faded the top of the hedge will be getting cut and I'm still cutting off all the non-flowering shoots.

This particular plant that the neighbours planted has already escaped along the hedgerow at the bottom of our gardens; I'm the only one that seems to fight it, others have let rampage some 4 or 5 gardens up to our right and it's already scaled a 20ft hawthorn tree next door!!

Wildlife gets a hard time as it is these days so I will leave the flowers to the insects for the time being :thumb: