Drosera

Drosera, commonly known as the sundew, is one of the largest carnivorous plants. The insects are used to supplement the poor mineral nutrition of the soil in which the plants grow. Various species, which vary greatly in size and form, are native to every continent except Antarctica. The English common name 'sundew' refer to the glistening drops at the tip of each tentacle that resemble drops of morning dew. 

The round-leaved sundew that I have found in the nearest bog is a specie of this carnivorous plant. It may be found in bogs, marshes, fens and is the most widespread sundew of northern Europe, much of Siberia.

The plant feeds on insects, which are attracted to the glistening drops loaded with a sugary substance, covering its leaves. It 's carnivorous behaviour in response to usually poor in nutrients soils. The plant uses enzymes to dissolve the insects which become stuck to the  tentacles and extract nutrients from their bodies. (wiki)
I first saw sundew in the bog close to the river, where I often walk (read 'All the rivers run'). In general, I was looking for wild strawberries, because they usually ripen in June. 

Lovely wild berries and very sweet.

 
Having read in detail about the behavior of the sundew, I thought that if it were larger and consumed more bloodsucking insects causing harm to people, pets and livestock then mosquitoes and horseflies would not even be in the garden :-)  What is your opinion?

 

GBBD in Mid-June

Mid-June, the time of light nights and nightingale singing. It's also a busy time, everyday garden work is waiting for me at the morning. 
Despite on the Football World Cup (that started yesterday in Russia, particular several matches will be held in St. Petersburg) I prefer to live in my summer cottage, to garden or to knit sitting in the shade of a gazebo (sorry, fans, I'm not fond of football).

Rhododendrons continue their flowering, now the azaleas "Mandarin light" and "Northern light" blossom with bright flowers.

 

My new greenhouse turned out to be warm enough, so I constantly open the windows to ventilate it. There are Begonia red and white, Dahlias, 2 species of Pelargonium, Impatiens, Fuchsia and cuttings.

 The flower shelf between vegetable raised beds

Pelargonium cuttings in bloom

Fuchsia cuttings

Flowers of black and red currant, gooseberry have already faded and berries began to ripen. Can't wait when they get juicy, to taste them.

Hemerocallis popped its yellow flowers сlose to Physocarpus opulifolius 'Diabolo' with nice dark red leaves. I love Physocarpus for its leaves and cuttings that are well rooted at any time.

I've bought Petunias, that were named 'mix'. In reality they turned out to be dark blue and white. On the first photo is a white one, my favorite is this one, its petals remind velvet.

Last year when winter was awful I lost 6 clematises and now I grow new variety of clematis, it's 'Justa'. These days it put out first flowers:

 
Finally we have had rains and I'm not worrying about watering. The Canadian rose 'Therese Bognie' is in bloom, the very fragrance buds open every day, they last about 2-3 weeks and  are tolerant to rain.

What are your everyday works in your gardens in June? What is new in your garden in mid-June?

Welcome June, Welcome 'White Nights'!

June has come, hurray!  It's a time of 'White Nights'. 24 hours of light!  It is because it does not get dark as soon as the Sun sets. The 'White Nights' are a curious phenomenon caused by northerly geographical latitude (60-59 degrees North), which can be seen in countries located on the same latitude: in Oslo (Norway), Finland, St. Petersburg (Russia), the southern tip of Greenland and Seward, Alaska (USA). 

In fact a night becomes indistinguishable from a day. Nights which are light, but the Sun's disk isn't visible for the entire night. I hope my neighbors - bloggers from Finland, Norway and Estonia enjoy this time-lapse.

This year June is a real summer month (not like last year). The weather is warm, dry and windy. I'm worrying about watering because May was dry enough and a bit of water was collected in water barrels. In light nights plants grow fast and need watering.
May and June is the time of rhododendron blooming. It's a wonderful show when within the day new flowers open. In the morning the rhododendron bushes have large buds then at the evening the bushes are covered with purple, white or scarlet flowers. Here are pictures I've taken during a day :

 'Helsinki University'

 'Piter Tigershedt'

 'Daughter of North'

 'Cunningham White'

'Pekka'

New opened buds of clematises:

I love outing at this time-lapse, the sky is bright, horizon is clear and light-yellow, listening to birdsongs especially to a nightingale who lives in a bush close to my garden.

 ***Some photos and video from Internet