Small tortoiseshell butterfly (Aglais urticae) on Verbena bonariensis at Aberglasney, late September 2015
It wasn’t that long ago that we visited Aberglasney House and Gardens in Carmarthenshire, but it now seems a whole season away. We last went in late September, when there were still so many flowers in bloom. So I am going to share them here. There were also signs of autumn change and decay, but I will put those in a second blog post.
Colourful cosmos in the cloister garden at Aberglasney
I thought this was a chocolate cosmo (Cosmos atrosanguineus) but I couldn’t smell chocolate, so it may just be a similar one
Poppy…
..and fallen stamens of the poppy
A pompom dahlia
Another dahlia…
—and another dahlia
…I think this might be a dahlia, too
…and this is surely a hoverfly
White Japanese anemone (Anemone hupehensis)…
…I particularly like this close-up
Pink Japanese anemone with downy buds
I think these are Aconitum napellus, commonly known as monk’s hood or wolfsbane – and very poisonous…
Although these look like marigolds, I don’t think they are – cheerful, though
Another view of the cloister garden
Next time it’s the seeds, berries and fungi that were also a big feature of Aberglasney in late September…
And here are some previous visits to Aberglasney:
The Squirrelbasket 
Very nice pics.
And that hoverfly on the possible Dahlia looks like a Bee Fly to me.
Thank you – although I DO think it is a hoverfly, as the only bee flies I have seen in pictures are a different shape.
But I am happy to consider other opinions…
All the best 🙂
Nice reminders of a late summer, Pat. Well done for recognising a hoverfly as such. Most people just think they are bees. This one is a member of the Eristalis tribe. The key id features for these are the face and the colours, and sometimes the shapes, of the legs. As neither are shown well in this pic I hesitate to get to species level but suspect E. pertinax.
If you’d like to send me the original image plus the exact date (I know the place and observer) I can post on the British Hoverflies Facebook page and see if someone can ID with greater certainty, and thus create a record.
Will do – I need to reply to your recent email anyway!
All the best 🙂
The close-up photograph of the white Japanese Anemone is simply stunning – thank you for sharing.
Thank you – it would probably make a greetings card!
Although I do love Japanese anemones, I have had to remove them from my own garden as it is too shady and they won’t stay upright.
All the best 🙂
Snap!
?
I assume you mean you’ve been there, done that, too!
All the best 🙂
My latest blog was about Aberglasney, hence snap.
A-ha! Sorry, I had missed that until now. For those interested, this is the link.
You have done a much better job at showing the general views, while I tend to focus too much on the detail these days!
I see you, too, have identified the marigold-like plants as Calendula…
All the best – I’ll try to keep up 🙂
That certainly does look like a chocolate cosmos. I’ve never found them to be particularly strong smelling when I’ve encountered them, and I vaguely remember reading (maybe I’m misremembering,,?!) that they smell stronger in the evening…
That could be true, although I managed to grow them in a pot once and those definitely smelled like chocolate (if you got close enough!)
All the best 🙂
What a shame we no longer within striking distance as we could have met up in the gardens! We are still members/friends of Aberglasney, though a long way from our current Suffolk home! One of our favourite places – in all seasons!
Indeed!
We are also “friends” and usually only make it about twice a year.
Now I am suddenly semi-retired I am hoping to have more time to go there. It’s a long way from Cardiff, too – but not as far as Suffolk!
All the best 🙂