Warm again

Isn't great now that it's warm again?

I celebrated with a trip to the Cotswolds with a chum, and visited Hidcote.

Hidcote is always amazing, but despite the millions and millions of flowers in bloom, there were practically no insects of birds. Where were they? Even the wild flower meadow and pond was eerily silent.

There's little to tell you about the planting at Hidcote, but is everything non-native, so the bees and insects (and then birds) have all moved off elsewhere?

To the NT's credit they must have thought the same, as they had some great over-wintering sites for insects. I loved this one made out of an old bookcase :

This is the best use of old pallets I've come across :