Like its close relative the courgette, the pumpkin starts as a swelling of the stem behind/underneath the flower. Pumpkin plants ramble a long way across the ground and produce many fruits - they therefore require a lot of food and moisture from the soil. Hopefully this one will be a beauty by Halloween.

Plenty of foliage means there should be a healthy root vegetable growing in the soil, but this bee must be on her way somewhere else as there are no flowers for her yet on this plant.

While the potatoes are growing in the soil, the above-ground parts of the plant grows big and bushy, makes flowers with yellow centres and purple or white outer petals, and sometimes makes fruit that look like small green tomatoes (the plants are part of the same family). But the leaves and fruits of a potato plant are poisonous to humans.

Ladybird larvae are fantastic for getting rid of aphids (blackfly/greenfly). They are armour plated against ant attack. Ants farm aphids and 'milk' them for their honeydew - so they try to protect them against predators.

We were donated five young fruit trees and six raspberry plants by Jo at Feeding Bristol. Fruit trees, particularly cherries, make beautiful blossom in the springtime.

Leeks, carrots, pak choi (Chinese celery cabbage), spinach and cabbage in a planter/raised bed. These planters were built by carpenters from the local Man Alive group and put in place and filled - with lovely well-rotted horse manure from the nearby stables plus compost from Gloucester parks - by volunteers from City of Bristol College. 

Along with the peas inside, the pods themselves are also edible - sweet and tasty when they're young.

The grubs (larvae) of these beetles are useful recyclers of nutrients in the in the compost heap, since they feed on decaying matter. The hop is beloved of many, since it is a vital ingredient of beer.

These are often the first butterflies to be seen in spring. Their caterpillars feed on nettles. Humans can also eat nettles, but usually only after boiling them in water.

These are the very hungry caterpillars of the cabbage white butterfly, so the spider is a helping with pest control The bigger one (bottom, middle) has already been caught and paralysed by the spider, ready for lunch.  

Yellow - cat's ear ('false dandelion'), white - clover, purple - self heal. There are also  dandelions here which have already flowered. These flowers provide food for many species of insect.

In the hive, the worker bees (all female) tell their colleagues (all sisters) where a particular flower patch is by doing a 'dance' and giving them a taste of the nectar. The flowers may be several miles from the hive.

This is a male (the female has a curved ovipositor - for laying eggs - protruding from her rear end). The males sing to the females by rubbing their wings together.

The cinnabar's yellow and black striped caterpillars feed on ragwort leaves. Ragwort can be poisonous to horses if eaten in very large quantities. However, they tend to avoid it because it tastes bad. Like most wild plants, ragwort and its attendant insects are an important part of the natural world.

Also called the green stink bug because it produces a pungent odour if handled or disturbed.

From City of Bristol College.

From the Man Alive group.

From seeds planted by City of Bristol Duke of Edinburgh volunteers.

Gardeners, carpenters and cooks.

Using reclaimed materials and a grant from Knowle West Alliance. In the background is our new polytunnel, which has an old frame donated by Redcatch Community Garden.

This is a thornless blackberry - all the gain, no pain!

 

Getting along famously on a broad bean leaf

On a yellow poppy.