WILDMAY
If you’relucky,youmightina village
spota commonblue,butrealistically
thisis theonly‘blue’likelytobe
encounteredintheaverageBritish
garden.ChrisPackhamcalledit
the“daintiestdarling”inhisbook
BackGardenNatureReserve(still
inprintafter 19 years).Theholly
blueis amongthefirstoftheyear’s
butterfliesnottohavehibernated
asadults– onesonthewingnow
overwinteredaschrysalises,which
formedlastautumn.Numberspeak
inMay,andthere’sa second brood
inJulytoAugust.
GETINVOLVEDJointheRHS/
WildlifeTrustsgardeningproject:
wildaboutgardens.org.uk
4 |HOLLYBLUE
Blue beauty