Two red admiral butterflies chase and spiral above the buddleia, flashing red and black wings against blue sky. Small tortoiseshells forage among the yellow radiating petals of Inula hookeri. Speckled wood and comma land beside them, two at once sharing a flower. A peacock flicks its large wings open and shut, each time revealing false eyes and sleek hairy body.

It’s a relief to see so many familiar butterflies feeding on familiar flowers. This time last year was very different. Then, I wrote in my Country Diary about their absence, despite the abundance of nectar plants here – the effect of a cold, wet winter and spring. When the results came in from the Big Butterfly Count (BBC), Butterfly Conservation declared a butterfly emergency.

What a contrast this year. The initial results of the 2025 BBC have confirmed what so many of us suspected: that we are seeing butterflies more frequently and in greater numbers this summer than last, helped by the warm, dry spring. White butterflies, large and small, so far top the chart – full results are at the end of August – followed by gatekeeper, red admiral and meadow brown.

A painted lady glows orange, bathed in reflected light. Photograph: Susie White

What I’m seeing in my own garden echoes this. High numbers of large whites and green-veined whites flying around our veg. Meadow browns and small heaths on the purple-pink marjoram alongside numerous bumblebees and honeybees. Speckled wood and comma – two species that are gradually moving north – are plentiful.

So much beauty too. The underwings of a painted lady glow orange, bathed in the reflected light of calendula petals. Daytime moths are also frequent. Large yellow underwings and dark arches on sea holly, the occasional thrill of a hummingbird hawk-moth – but not yet the more southern-based Jersey tiger, whose numbers, according to the initial BBC results, have soared this year.

There’s a wonderful sense of continuity at seeing the butterflies of my childhood, and similar in number (at least to my memory) of summers past. This year’s profusion doesn’t, of course, reverse their long-term decline, but it does feel more hopeful. Sitting here, watching the constant movement, I realise what easy joy butterflies bring – and how much I missed them last year.