The wildlife pond is 2 years old today!! It's amazing how quickly it has matured. Even in that short space of time we have been blessed with so many moments of wonder.
We've had some gorgeous weather of late, and in the growing warmth of the sun the garden has come alive. At times it's been buzzing with insects; honey bees, bumble bees of various types, hover-flies, the lovely long-tongued anthophora plumipes bee, and a few passing large white butterflies. The comfrey flowers have already been put to good use, and colour can be found throughout the garden now with the primroses still providing a glorious show, forget-me-nots a lovely powder-blue swathe and daisies and dandelions dotting the lawn. At the end of the garden garlic mustard has begun to bloom. Best of all however, is the marsh ,marigold at the back of the pond; it's a magnificent sight. The pond itself has been a hive of activity. This weekend the numbers of pond skaters shot up to ten or more. They're aggressive creatures, and the brief but furious battles between individuals are frequent. Water boatmen, occasional sightings of the delicate water measurers and the constant wriggling of tadpoles around the margins draw the eye, and it's easy to become mesmerised by it all, drawn in to the mysterious depths. Frogs still pop up on occasions too, but best of all this weekend was the reappearance of the big green hawker dragonfly larvae and a female common newt. The two dragonfly larvae we spotted are enormous! I suspect this will be their year to emerge as adults.
Though the wind still feels cold at times isn't it wonderful that spring is with us at last. And when the showers disperse and the skies clear the sunshine feels heaven sent. In response, the garden has burst into life. The 14th of the month was exceptionally warm and sunny, and it was with joy that we discovered the cornfield annuals had begun to germinate. The pond quickly became a hive of activity. Masses of tadpoles were now visible, and as if by magic this years' first batch of pond skaters arrived. Water boatmen, wirlygig beetles and a pair of water measurers were awake, plus a broad-bodied chaser dragonfly larvae digging it's way into a blob of frog's spawn. Around the willow saplings Suesie found the first ladybird of the year. Here, lesser celandine is in bloom. This spring flower can be seen flowering everywhere at this time of year, and when the sun shines it creates gorgeous carpets of gleaming gold. Plant it in a cultivated border at your peril though for it is very invasive. It's best confined to the wilder areas or amongst grass. On the 16th an eagerly awaited batch of wild flower plugs arrived! Barely able to contain my excitement I hastened out to plant them. Some of these were to go into our new bog garden just beyond the pond, joining the purple loosestrife and flowering rush already lifted from the pool. They'll do much better here with space to spread. Arranged around them were the new arrivals; meadowsweet, bogbean and ragged robin. We'd also picked a few shade-loving plants to grow at the end of the garden under the trees. These included the lovely lady fern and that gorgeous wild flower; nettle-leaved bellflower. Kidney vetch, tufted vetch and the the beautiful field rose were also added to our growing collection of native species. Of course, the more native plants you have, the more insects and other creatures will feel attracted to stay and make a home. So the garden is steadily greening up and bushing out, and comfrey, aubretia, forget-me-nots and periwinkle add their hues. The primroses are a magnificent sight this year. Returning to the pond, the tadpoles are visibly larger now and swimming freely. The marsh marigold is covered in flower buds and is obviously going to be an awesome sight. There's even a flower forming on one of the little seedlings that were self-sown from last year's seed. We can't wait to see all the dramas and developments of the weeks to come.
After the coldest march since records began isn't it glorious to feel that spring has finally begun. I know it's a bit changeable at the moment, but gone is that biting cold we endured for so long, and when the sun does shine it feels like bliss. The seventh of the month saw the first day for us, that suggested a real change was afoot. It even felt warm enough to enjoy our first outdoor lunch of the year. Such a lift to the spirits. As we sat, a great tit sang from the trees at the end of the garden, ringing out it's notes so loudly it seemed to cry; "Thank God for that! Now to make up for lost time!" Having soaked up some of the delicious rays Suesie and I couldn't resist it any longer; we gathered our beloved tools and gardened furiously! The area planned for the autumn sowing of our new meadow, we've chosen to grow in the meantime, as a native cornfield annuals patch. Having already cultivated the area, the soil was dry enough to rake to a fine tilth, hand sow the mix, then lightly tread the seed into the soil. We then securely netted the area against cats and left the rain to do it's magic. There's something so exciting about sowing seeds! intoxicated with the thrill of it all I couldn't resist the urge to sow a few trays of purple loosestrife, betony, and foxglove; seed that we'd collected from our own plants last year. These we placed in our newly purchased grow-house. Amazingly, most our plants have fared pretty well from the ravages of the cold. They've certainly been set back though. This time last year our frtitillarias were in bloom! Only a single shoot can be found at the moment. Pond skaters too have yet to reappear. But a pair of big water boatmen can usually be seen rowing lazily around plus a few water-skimming spiders, either on the surface or scurrying through the grassy edge. And on the 7th, what a joy it was to discover that a few tiny tadpoles had hatched! After all that snow and ice we were very worried for their survival. Today's peek revealed masses have hatched; much more than last year.
Flowers in bloom include; daffadils, dog violets and a carpet of gorgeous primroses. Garlic mustard seedlings have germinated at the foot of the bay tree, lilly of the valley is poking through and old man's beard is beginning to burst into leaf. Other sightings include a chiff chaff; one of the summer migrant birds, taking a bath in the pond. It's exciting to wonder how the garden will unfold and mature this year, with established wildflowers spreading and maybe flowering for the first time, new ones to plant, and new features and habitats to create. If you're anything like me you're not only fed up with the cold weather but itching to get going in the garden too. It's been relentless hasn't it.? I hear things are set to change from now on. If it doesn't I'll eat my socks.
Although things have been pretty much set back in the garden, there have been a few things of note. On those rare occasions when the day has felt blessed with a little sun and warmth, the odd bumble bee has visited, also water boatmen, whirligig beetles and those little water-skimming spiders have been seen in the pond. Thankfully, although some of the frog's spawn has indeed perished from the ravages of the cold, much has survived and has already changed into 'commas.' Under the trees at the end of the garden, clumps of cow parsley and white comfrey are bushing out. We're beginning to add a few primroses here too and planning to add other shade-loving plants hoping that they will self-seed and naturalise to give this little area a woodland feel. Behind the trees there's an almighty bramble plant which we're going to train to form a screen. Bramble is a wonderful wild flower to have. As well as the rich supply of nectar and fruit, the arching tangle of stems creates a home for all sorts of small creatures. A trip to the garden centre last weekend resulted in us purchasing a small, five-tier grow house; just perfect for the seed trays we'll be using. Lastly, we've been preparing the ground for the native annual seed mix, hopefully ready for sowing this weekend. Towards the end of the year we plan for this to be cleared for sowing a native meadow. . |