Butterfly bush again

The garden is really alive with butterflies at the moment - many more than last year.  Presumably something to do with the weather, though it would be nice to think that we're offering a much more butterfly friendly garden these days.

Lots of red admirals, but also in this photo a painted lady and a tortoiseshell.  I also spotted a peacock on the purple buddleia.  And a couple of days ago, I saw a comma.  We also have lots of whites, exactly which ones I don't know, but they are mainly flitting around the veggies.

W and S (the youngster from next door but one who's been helping in the garden this summer) made really good progress in clearing a space for yet another pile of turf in the composting area, and then moving some already cut turf, and cutting more.  A few more good days should see the extension of the plough flowerbed to allow the planting of some azaleas and rhododendrons. 

This evening we were delighted to see a flock of housemartins catching insects around the pond.  Sadly, no housemartins nesting here this year - the housemartin nest that was the subject of sparrow incursions eventually fell down completely.  And the nest cups we provided haven't been used this year.