WILDFLOWERS seemed to peak at the end of June, when the spring flowers, buttercup, orchids, ladies slipper, and clover turned brown in the extreme heat and went to seed quickly, writes Hazel Wedlake .

But happy in the heat were tall gold cats ear daisies and purple hawkweed together with Ladies Bedstraw standing out gold in the field and also a prized patch on the edge of our lawn. (Strict instructions not to mow!)

I mentioned bees gripping on to buttercups in the breeze last month, and by chance I found a study had been made of this, which found bees do favour concave flowers as they can lock their feet in between the petals! It was good to see butterfly numbers increase this year, especially plentiful, the meadow browns. I was pleased to get a good photo of a beautiful comma butterfly on lavender.

It seems each butterfly species has its time of year, and their preferred plants, so it was interesting to find Marbled Whites just in the same patch of grass each morning. Gatekeepers appeared after the meadow browns and favoured the blackberry blossom as did some speckled hedge butterflies. Ringlets seemed elusive. Every time I saw a darker brown butterfly I waited expectantly for it to settle and see the small circle on each lower wing, but no, it was a meadow brown again.

The dog lay down, fed up with all this hanging about staring at the hedge – when were we going to get on with the walk!

The dog was in disgrace as it happened. I’ve re-named her The Potato Snatcher! I was so upset, she dug my potatoes up three times again this year, pushing aside the barriers I had put up. I first realised what was happening when I saw her tossing something up in the air on the lawn, and excitedly pouncing on it again – she doesn’t usually do that with her bone I thought - no it was a nice roly poly potato that amused her. So I dug up the potatoes myself to eat them whilst I could, but as I’d not watered them, there were just two left for me. Lots of foliage this year, but not much underneath as a friend had warned me might be the case.

Appreciating the good things about the season, most flowers flourished initially, roses were wonderful, but gradually the lack of water began to tell and border perennials began to wilt.

A lot of my perennials growing in pots decided it was just too hot to get on and flower. I read that grass becomes stressed between 27º to 32º and stops growing and I suppose it could be the same for some plants especially when roots are vulnerable in a pot.

How they must enjoy sinking into some deep cool soil when they at last get planted.

What was thriving in the heat though were the grasshoppers. As I walked along a footpath with my daughter we walked into a gathering of grasshoppers sunning themselves on the open path.

They startled us and we startled them, they erupted into the air pinging away into the crispy foliage. Also crossing the field, I often disturb green woodpeckers feeding on the ant hills.

They fly off with high pitched warning calls in their characteristic swooping flight.

Earlier in June, we heard repeated screeches outside the front porch, and raising up the torch , the outline of two young owls was just visible, perched side by side on a branch. We assumed they were just fledged offspring maybe of the Tawny Owls that we hear “Twhitt-twooing” in October.

How lucky to see that!