The Hebe has visitors

A few years ago, a friend gave me a tiny Hebe plant, and I had nowhere sunny to plant it, so I stuck in a small pot in front of the house, just for the time being. It's now a very big Hebe plant, still growing in a very small pot. But somehow it thrives. And the bees and the hoverflies love it.


Hornet Mimic hoverfly (Volucella zonaria). Very big, and in flight, remarkably hornet-like. I'm seeing lots of them this year.

Photos taken last week. Today it's rain and gales again. Strong enough winds for the Met Office to reach for their book of names: Storm Antoni. I haven't been out yet, just stood at the kitchen window a while watching the rain blowing by in curtains.

( There is no shortcut to the middle of nowhere )