Bugs, green manure, seeds and bluebells

It was a warm day today and it obviously brought out some of the early spring insects. There were many solitary bees buzzing around our daffodils. They looked like mining bees to me so I suspect they’ll be looking for bare patches of earth to dig burrows in too.

I also spotted this adult green shield bug (Palomena prasina) crawling along the branches of my loganberry:

Having now received my veg seeds for 2008 I set about sowing them in the greenhouse. I also cut down the green manure in two of the plots ready to take the new seedlings once they’ve reached a good size. It was a bit late when I sowed my green manure last year and it’s only been the agricultural mustard that has done well. Fortunately it covers the ground well and has some attractive yellow flowers that are popular with the early insects.

I also noticed that the English bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) in the wild area at the bottom of the garden are almost in flower: