Cattleya

I think this is LC "Tropical Pointer", I picked it out a number of years ago and I really like this one. Since moving two years ago the orchids have really suffered. I have lost most of the Oncid types, some of the Phals but most of the Cattleya types have kept going.
These don't flower very regularly and the flowers last 3-4 weeks so when they do come out it is more an an event!

Daisy Autumn

Summer is coming to an end and the various daisies are coming to the fore. This one has been out since August, it will continue until October. The other dominant daisy is the Michaelmas Daisy, there are several in the garden and travelling on trains now you can see drifts of them flowering by the track side.

Something else blue

Something from my local travels, an Adonis Blue pictured on a cloudy day at Lardon Chase about 30mins drive from here. I'm hoping one day to put up a webpage on butterflies but progress is slow..they move more than my plants do! Anyway back to the Adonis Blue, these are somewhat rare, confined to hot Chalk downland, they are probably at their northern limit in the UK around here. In the garden, for the UK, the most common blue butterfly is the Holly Blue, a sort of powder blue with a dark edge and silvery underwings, feeding on Holly berries in the springtime and with a second brood lays eggs on Ivy berries. If you are interested in such things I recommend joining Butterfly Conservation who help conserve butterflies and moths and their habitats http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/index.php