Simon King Wildlife on Wildflower Meadows

I’m so delighted to see how quickly Wild Meadows has become a colourful carpet of wildflowers since our sewing the seeds here two years ago. Where last year we were treated to an explosion of annual species like poppy and cornflowers, this year has seen the perennials kick in; Ox-eye daisy, wild carrot and knapweed to name just a few. This profusion of floral magnificence is not only exquisite to look at, but it plays a very real and multi purpose role in the environment. Every plant stem is locking up carbon from the atmosphere, delivering water cycle services through roots and transpiration and, of course, providing food and sustenance to the legions of mini beasts and bigger creatures that depend on them. Any patch of land you are able to devote to wild flowers and native grasses will make a huge difference to the biodiversity on your patch too.

Alongside native flora, the single most important habitat you can introduce to your patch is a body of fresh water. From a small pond to larger water bodies, such as the one we dug here in Wild Meadows two winters ago, water is an essential ingredient for life and attracts a host of new species to even the smallest garden. Everything from the subtle sub aqua community like water beetles and boatmen, to the more showy pond stars like dragonflies and kingfishers may turn up making a massive positive difference to your patch. We will soon be making more ‘How To’ films on creating these habitats, so keep an eye on the website and our YouTube channel for updates. There’s really so much you can do to invite wild creatures to your garden, let us help take you on that journey…

via Latest news from Simon King Wildlife.

BBC – Earth – Why wildflower meadows are so special

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It may sound obvious but 100 years ago Britain’s countryside was a very different place. Back then it would have been awash with colourful flower-rich meadows and grasslands that were an intrinsic part of our agriculture and people’s daily lives. … Continue reading →

A dry summer ???

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I’ve not been blogging for a while – mostly because I’ve been out there, in the garden, doing it rather than writing about it! Just grabbing a few moments now before I get out there again :-). The larks are … Continue reading →

Garden Stuff

After being out of action for best part of a week due to the Denosumab injection after-effects I’m feeling a lot better today. This is good as there’s a whole lot of stuff to get done in the garden!

Before the injection Kevin helped me remove what felt like several acres of nettles who were organising a military coup on the garden … they’re now resting and recycling in the compost! He also made another huge fire-pile which we must burn when it’s dry. This is Kevin being an Ent!

And I got the border in the new orchard cleared, a bin-full of made-compost on it, and the summer bulbs replanted. I’ve ordered a lot of lavender and sage plants to go in there – it’s south-facing and against a wall so ideal for Mediterranean herbs.

I also managed to get the last of the raised beds cleared ready (if very late!) for the salad sowings. Then it was last Tuesday … and the Denosumab kicked in making me feel washed-out, chilly and fluey :-(. Add in it decided to blow gales over the garden for several days and there was quite a lot of rain and I went to hide indoors. Today looks good though so I’ll be out there soon.

Jobs to do, but not all today I think …
• Rake raised bed
• Sow salad
• Fix rabbit-wire around raised bed so bunnies can’t eat my salad!
• Finish putting compost on orchard border
• Transplant oxeye daisies, campions and feverfew to wildflower meadows
• Fill in holes in lawn where I took oxeye daises and reseed
• Find more lungwort and lady’s mantle seedlings for border and round bed
Eeeek! That looks like enough to keep me going for ages!

I intend to do the first 3 on the list today and, hopefully, some transplanting tomorrow as the weather’s supposed to clear by mid-morning.

Gardens are a continuous work-in-progress LOL 🙂

Blooming in the garden …

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The garden is flowering so I thought you might like a look …

identify native bluebell – Woodland Trust

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Good article … Blue and white native bluebells at Ashenbank Wood but can you tell them apart from non-natives that are widespread in our woodland? (Photo: WTML) There are two species of bluebell found in the UK. Native or British … Continue reading →