White Water-lily

In contrast to the parched countryside, where straw-gold fields and grasslands predominate, the  Nene valley was a symphony of restful blues and greens on my early morning walk. August is always a good time for water plants and I was happy to see huge swathes of several rather local species including Shining Pondweed, Perfoliate Pondweed, Arrowhead and Frogbit. The latter species was first recorded from the Nene in 2017 and 2018, but is now very abundant on the more sheltered margins.

Two sizable stands of White Water-lily were more of a surprise. This used to be abundant in the Nene in Victorian times, but was gradually replaced by Yellow Water-lily which is more tolerant of the physical damage caused by boat traffic. It's possible that tit had been introduced as they are close to a large property whose garden runs down to the river, but it would be nice to think that they might be genuinely native and will stage a similar comeback as the Frogbit.

After another afternoon sheltering from the heat, we headed over to Chris and Lizzy's house just after five, for an evening of drinks and food in their garden. We admired their new fence, which makes the garden feel much more secure and also spent time looking at their book of wedding photos, a wonderful reminder of a very happy day. Lizzy's parents were also there, and it was lovely to re-connect with them  - we used to see them fairly regularly but somehow Covid changed that. A very jolly evening!