2026/34 - Creepy Crawlies are my motivators

It's no secret I adore flowers. I garden because of it. But ever since I became aware that we are rapidly destroying our environment, and not just over here in the Dutch Delta, I came to realise that I needed to help insects in the only, small way that I am able to. So I try to provide a good habitat for the creepy crawlies that have made Hunky Dory their home, by planting lots of nectar plants and by leaving alone the wild flowers that appear. And by the way, I don't think the crawlies are creepy at all. Now a Rattlesnake, that's a creep.

Renée, you idiot, I hear you say. That spider on your Phlomis eats insects, so what the, etc.

Well, actually, yes, this Philodromus spec., or  Turf Running spider, what we call a common 'renspin' in Dutch (ren = to run, spin = spider) eats insects, but I still qualify it as essential for the circle of life in my garden. It is harmless to humans, unlike its cousin Philodromus dispar, the zwartrugrenspin (black back spider). Last year I was bitten by an unknown beastie whilst weeding, and I now suspect it was by this P. dispar. I got a nasty allergic reaction which made my entire hand swell up to baseball glove proportions.

Some more spiders, well...'some'...This nest is in my Daphne in my balcony garden. Due to living at the back of a harbour, I suspect this is the Garden spider, or Cross Spider (yes, we call it kruisspin). Araneus diadematus is considered a pest by my neighbours, who hire men with poison to eradicate them, as we have masses of them every year. But they are very useful in eating the mosquitoes that also frequent the harbour!! So they are welcome to live on my balcony.

One of my beautiful Desdemona roses with another Turf Running spider, hiding itself well.

What is that on my Monarda? Hm...it looks like a cross between Spilostetus saxatilis and Lygaeus equestris... Pretty sure it is from the Lygaeidae family, who are very prolific in Hunky Dory. They all love the Monarda.

I hope I have correctly identified this as a Miner Bee, one of the bees that fly up to my 4th level appartement to visit my yellow Wallflower. Isn't it gorgeous? When my Daphne was still in bloom a month ago, it also attracted some bees, Miner as well as Bumblebees. And from the state of the leaves of my Clematis last year, I was also visited by leafcutter bees. I think them very brave to fly up to this height.

Definitely one of the bees that visit my garden most often, here buzzing away on the Echinaecea. They also frequent the Artichokes, and sleep in the flowers.

Hahahahaha, crowded in there.

Could this be a Halictidae? Or a Syrphus ribesii, which to my inexperienced eye looks exactly the same? I suspect the latter. But both are equally welcome.

No, this is NOT the Lesser Spotted Potato. Looks like a Ladybird, or Coccinellidae, sort of. The Asian, invasive kind. As it eats our native Ladybirds, I frown (a bit) on its presence in my garden.

Here is another one, Asian. In fact I hardly see native ones any longer...

There be dragons...

These dragonflies are pretty rare in my garden, so I am always very happy to spot one.

Two post-coital striped Pentatomidae, or Graphosoma italicum, or what we call pyama bugs on the Wild Carrot. So pretty.

I hope you have enjoyed my insect tour of my garden. Have a good week, wherever you are.

Renée Grashoff 

2026/33 - Heatstress ? Absolutely! Me too...

 In a normal year, I would notice my balcony plants getting a bit tired of it all by the end of September. The same goes for Hunky Dory, a gentle decline, a winding down towards full-blown autumn.

 This year however, both have plants already simply giving up!

That grass is brown (although the roots should be alive...I hope!), the flowers are all spent, the ornamental grasses are yellow. The plants in the shade of the Pinus are barely hanging on.

The only plant still going strong in this part of my garden is the Wild Carrot. It must be because I give it peptalks. Even the 'weed' Aegopodium podagraria is looking distinctly unhappy.

The only part of the garden that seems to be hanging on, sort of, is the pink bed.

This Chinese Lantern should be blooming in mid-September at the earliest. Oh well, no use keeping on about it, 2026 has been the hottest, most frustrating gardening year of my life.

My balcony roses are doing okay, as they get mollycoddled by me, I should admit. Daily watering, daily deadheading, daily talking to's.

The Erigeron likes it dry, so that is doing fine, as is the English grass. But that  Physocarpus opul. Diablo at the right, is struggling! We've had a terrible mistral-like wind for days (hot, force 5) which has dried it out despite my watering, and it has lost half of its leaves.

That Streptocarpus has tripled in size, but has almost stopped flowering. I have to bring it indoors in October for the winter, it is a houseplant really, but where on earth will I put it? It is huge. That is the thing with putting houseplants outside for a summer holiday...they like it so much that they grow like mad.

The Last Cucumber. They have all been fat and short. But thankfully they taste okay, unlike the Tomatoes - I have plenty of them, but they are only suitable for sauce, and then need loads of herbs to give them some taste.

Actually, this grass along the lake bank does not look so bad! Not lush, but not the brown stuff where I necessarily have my Puck do a quick wee either. We just got in from such a wee, 35°C would you believe, and my poor old dog was suffering. But she is used to go around 14.00, so go she must! I take her in the shade of the Summer Oaks around the corner, but so do all the other dog walkers, so it has turned into Poo Avenue.

She would feel better if she swam to cool off, but she is not a swimmer. Actually, there is blue-green algae in the lake, and people and dogs are warned not to swim in it, as the algae not only turn you green and make you smell like a three days dead fish, but they can actually make you very ill.

So she suffers in silence, and I give her the occasional ice cube, and turn the fan on for her.

Right. From a sweltering Dutch Delta I'll say bye bye. Hopefully the rain that they keep promising us, but so far never arrived, will come this weekend. Wish us luck?

Have a good week, wherever you are.

Renée Grashoff 

2026/32 - August already...time flies.

 My allotment garden, suffering from the 4th heatwave of this year and the subsequent lack of water, is giving off autumn vibes already... My allotment neighbour's plums are suffering from mildew and are rotting on the trees, such a shame. But the other neighbour's figs are doing great!

Mind you, the birds think so too! Who would have thought that it would ever be possible to grow edible figs in our climate? I used to rave over them when visiting Greece, once upon a time. And now they are growing in the Dutch Delta.

My quietly suffering Hydrangeas. They can live out their life there, but I will certainly not buy new ones. Much more sensible to get plants which are suited to drought.

I took a turn around the allotments, and saw the same thing everywhere: dried out soil and struggling crops. The only plants which are holding on are the Mediterranean ones, like these sunflowers.

These Nasturtiums are looking perky, but I suspect they are being watered.

When I got to Hunky Dory at 07.00 a.m., I noticed this Bumble Bee still asleep in one of the last Lathyrus flowers. But I can see new shoots coming up, so...

Both my other neighbour (my plot is surrounded, I have 4) Hans and me plant flowers especially for the insects, and this year he has lovely Cosmea.

You cannot see where his flowers stop, and mine begin, which is just the way I like it.

This type of Hydrangea I like much better than the mopheads, and they are more interesting for the bees as well. At least with these there's pollen for them to collect.

I cut off all the tops of my tomatoes; they will produce tomatoes still, but these will take too much energy from the many others already there, and besides will never ripen themselves.

Obviously this was taken on my balcony. The Canna is enjoying the hot, dry weather. But I water her daily, otherwise she would not look so happy.

Right. I'll leave you with another happy photo, this time of my friend Li Ping and myself enjoying a lovely Japanese meal in the Markthal in Rotterdam yesterday. Trust us to choose the hottest day of the month (so far...) to visit Fenix and then walk... My body is still in shock today, what did you do?!

If you find yourself in Rotterdam, do visit Fenix, won't you? It's a museum telling the tale of migration, both to and from Rotterdam. It is WONDERFUL! Fenix Museum

Li Ping originates from Malaysia, so she knows about leaving your country to live on the other side of the world, and tends to drag me to Asian restaurants (which I don't mind at all, as I really like the Asian quisine).

Do visit my author website at Renée Grashoff Schrijft and have a great week, wherever you are.

Renée Grashoff