Three bumblebees and one honey bee...

... buzz into a bar. I mean, lavender! That was the largest number of (beneficial) insects I've seen on one plant yet. Sadly, they didn't all want to model for the photo...


If we're looking for the non=-beneficial insects, then they are to be found on the sweet peas. The plants are covered in greenfly, and when I first noticed that I started removing the little buggers (there's something deeply satisfying in sliding a finger-breadth of them off a stem, then squeezing!). However, there was a ladybird there, busily eating her way through the aphids, and I realised that for a fully organic garden I need to provide some pests for the predators to enjoy. So now the sweet peas (which, BTW, smell really nice) have greenfly *and* baby ladybirds (AKA garden crocodiles, as they look like ugly, tiny reptiles with big jaws before they turn into the familiar cute, red bug).

Courgettes are being productive, and we're still harvesting them regularly. Here's a pic of stuffed veggies (the aubergines were from a shop) a la Provancale (just meat, herbs and spices, chopped veg flesh and an egg to bind the filling together) that proved very popular on Facebook! :)