We've been so busy up at the allotment of late it's been difficult to keep track of all the comings and goings in the garden. As ever though, it remains the perfect haven for Suesie and I to unwind. and remember stillness. The flower borders are now awash with the vibrant hues of summer; Californian poppies, foxglove, campanula and love-in-a-mist. Not many native poppies this year for some reason, but then, one of the things I love about wildlife gardening is how it seems so different from year to year. A few plants have delighted us with their maiden blooms this year; bugle, ragged robin and greater stitchwort around the pond, whilst at the end of the garden the alkanet planted last autumn has been gorgeous. Recently we've noticed the taller plants at the end of the garden have been rather trampled. A fox was our immediate hunch, but it wasn't till a few weeks later that our suspicions were confirmed. One evening, as I sat reading on the bench below our kitchen window, a most beautiful sleek fox crept warily into view from beneath the trees. For the next thirty minutes or so I watched entranced, as he lay beside the willow dome or sat scratching furiously, totally at ease in my presence. At this time of year the garden is filled with the constant hum of insects. Lots of beautiful brimstone butterflies graced the space earlier in the year whilst in the pond, newly-hatched damselflies and broad-bodied chasers have been dragging themselves from the water. Adult common blue and large red damselflies can be seen constantly over the pool, settling in tandom to lay their eggs just below the surface film. A few female common newts have also put in the occasional appearance, but sadly still no sign of a male. Our new meadow, sown after such great efforts to get soil conditions just right last autumn has been greening up nicely. Indeed, many of the grasses are now tall and in flower. Kidney vetch and yellow rattle have been giving a good display, but it won't be till next year that the native flowers really come into their own. Many native plants require the intense cold of winter to unlock their resistance to germination so I wonder how the mildness of last winter may have affected the mix. We'll see. We can always add more plants as time goes on, but sometimes it's good to be patient and just let things happen as they will.
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The weather's seemed a little cooler of late. Never-the-less, the dance of spring marches inexorably on and the garden has quickly become bushy with fresh green growth. Primroses, forget-me-nots, and lilac add their colours, and garlic mustard is already tall. This native hedgerow flower is the food plant of the orange-tip caterpillar, and it self-seeds prolifically in our garden. Further back, around the base of the old apple tree, the new red campian and alkanet plants I added in the autumn have already begun to bloom. Chasing the rush of spring colour bees, hoverflies and other insects have filled our garden with their buzz. Speckled-wood butterflies have also appeared often seen spiralling upwards together in pairs, whilst amidst the broad green foliage of comfrey the brightly coloured catapillars of Scarlet tiger moth are growing fat. Around the edges of the pond masses of tadpoles can be seen wriggling away. The spindly water-measurer has made a welcome return, and a few of the pale green hawker dragonfly larvae have also appeared sunning themselves motionless atop the masses of surface weed. With the intensity of the sun's rays strengthening the first pair of yellow-fringed water lilly leaves have reached the pool's surface and the yellow flag iris is over a foot tall. The marsh marigold remains a glorious sight. Recently we've been watching a female blackbird collecting huge beakfuls of moss from around the margins of the pond. To our delight we saw her fly repeatedly into the heights of the tall bay tree at the edge of the garden. So exciting to have them nest here; we just hope the local cats will leave them in peace.
With the weather remaining mild and sunny with occasional showers of rain, the garden has become lush and green, and sprinkled with early colour. Powder blue patches of forget-me-nots dominate the garden with a mass of lovely primroses still flowering close to the pond. Here and there white comfrey blooms, already proving a hit with passing bumblebees. Garlic mustard has also begun to bloom, whilst around the back of the pond the big marsh marigold and it's two self sown seedlings have begun to share their dazzling yellow flowers. In the paler light of early evening they almost appear to glow. Daintier, yet no less bright, lesser celandine blooms in places, whilst the lawn and pond-side margins are carpeted with daisies and dandelions. Amidst the borders grape hyacinth, daffodils, and rosemary flower surrounded by carpets of nigella seedlings and the odd native common poppy. All of the wildflowers planted last autumn seem to have done well with the teasels, meadowsweet and ragged robin all sending up spires of new shoots. After all that hard work last autumn the juvenile native meadow is slowly greening up, and amongst the thinly sown wild grasses several species of wild flowers seem to have germinated too. It wont really come into it's full glory till next year and should get better and better from then on.
On sunny days the garden is already alive with bees of various types, and a few days ago we spotted our first anthora plumipes of the year. Under the lid of the compost heap the slow worms have also made a welcome reappearance. Right from the end of February a russet-capped female blackcap has been frequently seen foraging amongst our hedge of ivy close to the kitchen window. These summer migrants have such a gorgeous song. It would be wonderful if they decided to nest here.
The weather remains warm and sunny. As a result the garden is already a hive of insect activity including cabbage whites, pairs of tortoiseshells spiralling over the lawn, bumble bees, ladybirds, black ants seething on-mass under stones, and little spiders scurrying over the bare soil. And on the 8th of the month, the first new leaves appeared on our willow saplings. So wonderful to see. After last year's tremendous growth we hope to start weaving them into a domed roof before too long. Upon the surface of the pond we've seen up to five water boatmen at one time, whilst yesterday saw the arrival of this year's first pond-scater and wirly-gig beetle. The huge mass of frog's spawn has already turned into it's comma stage. The white comfrey has begun to add it's flowers to the garden's spring glow. These flowers, much loved by bumble bees, can be quite invasive so need to be kept in check. After such a mild and wet February it's a relief to have some sunshine, and these last few days have been gorgeous. Today, our garden was graced with a Brimstone butterfly. These lovely sulphur yellow insects are such iconic heralds of spring. Indeed, the garden is full of signs of new life as everything responds to the increased temperatures and strengthening sunshine. Crocuses, lesser celandine, dog violet and primroses are already in bloom, and many plants are sending up masses of fresh growth. Towards the end of the garden carpets of wood avens and garlic mustard seedlings can be found. It's so nice to see our plants spreading and colonising new areas like this. The frogs and the first newt of the year arrived back in the pond on the 23rd of February, and for the next seven days the surface was a swirl of activity as the frog's enjoyed their lustful antics.
I love this time of year. Some might see it as a time when the garden goes to sleep, but I view it as an exciting, dynamic time. Looking around the borders I can see that plants like the betony and bugle have really begun to bulk up in the cool of autumn, so that come the spring some of them will be sharing their very first blooms. In the cool moistness of recent days I've been clearing spaces for new plants grown from seed, moving and dividing plants that have outgrown their space, thinking of new features and possibilities and so it's a time of active visualisation.
Last week I began clearing out the buttercup that had become too dense around the base of our willow saplings. These have absolutely shot up this year so hopefully we'll be able to start weaving our dome next year. As I weeded I found a tiny baby slow worm resting curled up under a stone. It pays not to be too tidy in a wildlife garden. Whilst I worked a frog croaked quietly from the pond and a hawker dragonfly paid a brief visit. Late this morning we took a quick detour to this little park we know which features a small duck pond. Amidst the usual mix of mallards and moorhen we spotted a wigean; a particularly lovely duck which normally frequents wetlands in large flocks. It just goes to show that anything can turn up at this time of year so it pays to keep your eyes peeled. On the ninth of this month I finally finished preparing the ground for our new native meadow. It had been an exhausting job. Determined to create the best soil conditions possible I'd spent several days digging a series of deep holes. Native meadows thrive best on soil that's very poor, so by doing this I was able to bury the nutrient-rich top soil deeply under thick layers of the poor yellow subsoil from below. Once done the area was then raked to a fine tilth, the stones removed, and the whole bed sowed thinly with a mix of native meadow wild-flowers and fine-leaved grasses. I was also able to replant a few primroses, field scabious and the kidney vetch we'd purchased last spring. Once netted against cat attack it was a matter of anxiously waiting for signs of germination. And it's started! Tiny stalks of green grass have begun to show. For the first year the meadow will be mainly a carpet of featureless grass I'm afraid. It's only from the second year on that the flowers will begin to show, but from then on it will get better and better as each year passes.
Several times during the last two weeks of August our pond was graced by a lovely amber-winged dragonfly; an aeshna grandis; another new species for the garden.
Temperatures remain high, and on the 27th of the month we found a tangle of seven slow worms resting atop the rotting vegetation of our compost heap. The borders are still bright and colourful with red campion, globe thistle, verbena, gladioli, common poppies and field scabious still sharing their hues whilst the purple loose strife remains a fine sight. Our cornfield annuals patch has been magnificent this year too, dominated mainly by the sulphur-yellow wild mustard and the tall pink corncockle, all doing a wonderful job of attracting insects. Once the flowering was over we collected a fair bit of seed then began clearing the area ready for sowing our new meadow. Exciting stuff! What a lovely summer we've had, and although the borders look rather scruffy there's still plenty of colour in the garden. Hollyhocks, sunflowers, privit and native scabious still provide nectar and at the end of the garden even the red campion boldly flowers on. Many of the wildflowers like foxgloves, garlic mustard and clary sage are already setting seed, so we've been busy collecting it. Some of this we'll share at the Eastbourne Seedy Sunday event in October. With so much nectar on offer it's no surprise that the garden has been alive with foraging insects of all sorts, from bees and butterflies to big hawker dragonflies and the daintier damselflies on the pond. Around the privit blossom large white butterflies, gatekeepers, and the gorgeous little holly blues are in abundance plus the odd red admiral and painted lady. No peacocks yet however, and it's sad to recall childhood memories when these breath-taking creatures seemed to be much more frequent. The pond has once again been an enduring source of excitement this year. The oxygenating weed has become dense enough to completely cover the pool so we've been able to share some of it with a friend. Damselflies still appear on sunny days as do the dramatic hawkers; zooming and zig-zagging over the whole garden. Just under the surface, we often see the small black diving beetles mentioned last spring. They seem to have increased in number and are pretty aggressive. The other day I watched as one grappled a tadpole; a gruesome sight. Around the back of the pond native water mint begins to flower whilst the bog garden is dominated by the tall and stately purple loosestrife and hemp agrimony with it's lovely heads of strawberry and cream.
On quiet evenings as the light begins to fade, we've been rewarded for our patience by the sight of bats flying silently overhead, or the view of a hedgehog trundling at pace down the lawn. And though the garden looks a bit ragged round the edges, and the evenings are beginning to darken, there's an excitement surrounding the weeks ahead. There's the new meadow to be sown, our seedlings to plant and blackberry wine to be made in abundance! |