How long?

Well, it's been ages. My only defence is, well I don't really have one...

The hedge still looks like it's been the subject of an armoured assault, or at least the attentions of a psychopath with a chain saw. Pulling out all the old Lonicera, and pushing over the dead elms, has left a lot of gaps which have only just begun to fill in. My idea in pushing over the elms was to leave all that valuable decaying wood in the hedge but to do it in a manner which would be unobrtusive and safe for passers-by.

Plans for this year in the wildlife garden:

1) Do the other half of the hedge
2) Re-vamp the pond, replant and generally tidy up, also finally sort out the 'border' behind the pond.
3) Put up bird boxes and bat boxes around the garden, especially in the hedge

Bit problematic the last one due to the number of cats round here, though so long as there is enough cover we should be okay. Even our cat takes a few birds every year, but I'm of the opinion that ensuring enough nest spaces is vital and that, while we will lose a few birds to the local moggies this will be balanced by the increased number of birds raised though having enough nest sites and access to food.

Must post to this blog at least onece a week

Well, the birds like it

The birds really like the new devastated hedge. Because it's so open (compared to what it was) there are loads of places to perch while waiting for the bird feeders. Must remember that when it's replanted and coming back.

Currently I'm thinking of mainly sloe and hawthorne, with a bit of dog rose and perhaps a vibernum in there too.

Devastating the Lonicera

I've been doing what one of my mates from the council used to call renewal pruning on the morass of Lonicera nitida we have at the bottom of the garden. Since the nice man from the council decided to give us the hedge, with all the field maple, hawthorne, elder, etc in it there is no risk of some muppet from highways coming along with a flail mower and trimming it back to the point where we have no cover. So I can drastically reduce the lonicera and let the hedge do more of the work - possibly removing some of it and planting another row of native hedging in it's place.

Back, again

Well, I'm in a position to get back to writing this blog after the hiatus of the building project and so forth. The wildlife seemed unmoved by the construction of the extension, though the wildlife garden descended into rack and ruin: as did most of the rest of the garden in fact. The only thing in which I've really found time to take much of an interest was the pond, which has done very well.

But, now the house is finished (ironic laugh) we're taking more of an interest in the garden again. Posts and piccies to follow

Pond Update

It's been ages since I last posted, but the pond is coming along really well. It's hard to believe that I only dug it last autumn. The insects are turning up, there are loads of pond skaters and the air above it is alive with various airborne things. There has been one damselfly landing on one of the plants, and I'm really hoping for dragonflies (we had several hatch in the old pond last year, so I'm hoping that egg-laying adults will find the new one).

The poppies which seeded themselves next to the pond are looking good, and are a hoverfly magnet.

Pond life

Well, the pond and wildlife garden are both coming along well - I went down this morning and the Cardamine pratensis was in flower and I swear that hadn't happened the day before yesterday! The pond is full of tadpoles and the insects are beginning to find it too.



There are also loads of bumble bees, which is even better news as I want it to be a bumble-bee focussed area as one of the main aims. Now if I'm getting loads of them this year when there aren't any of the flowers in bloom yet (it will need next year for spring planting to have happened) that's good - a lot are really going for the Osmanthus delavii which is in full bloom this week and which we inherited.

Spring!

After the big freeze, then the sodden thaw, it's all happening!

1) The snowdrops have appeared from nowhere and are looking great
2) We have two big clumps of frog spawn in the new pond, and we've also had our first sighting of a frog in there too.
and
3) First bumble-bee of the year today. Not down in the new wildlife area as that's a big bare, but on our winter-flowering Jasmine.