New Video - Bee Hotels and Harvests
My latest video is up and running over on my Youtube channel. This week I’m busy harvesting lots of crops and I also show you all how to make a leafcutter bee hotel for 50p!
Archive of ‘Wildlife’ category
Project Pond is Complete!
I finished my little wildlife pond at the weekend and I am so happy with it. It turned out a little larger then I originally planned but it fits in the flower patch perfectly and hopefully that means more frogs can come and live in it (fingers crossed!) It now measures roughly 60cm deep (recommended depth to protect frogs from harsh winter weather), 1 metre in width and 1.5 metres in length. It has a slope on one end where any animals that fall in the pond by accident can easily clamber out. I also created two shelved areas about 30cm deep where some plants can sit, this also creates a nice shallow area for tadpoles to gather.
It didn’t take long to create at all mainly due to its size, however it took me a while to decided on the shape and layout resulting in me having to swap a previously brought pond liner for a larger one! I could have easily made my little pond in a weekend if I had all the supplies before had, and if I didnt keep changing my mind! The plants were the easy part and it was made so much simpler by the helpful advice the shop assistants gave me at World of Water in Romsey. I instantly fell in love with the Myosotis Scorpioides which is a water forget-me-not, I just adore the little delicate blue flowers so I just had to have one and plus the leaves are perfect for egg laying too. Now I was told that this particular plant can spread so I will be keeping an eye on it so I can make sure it stays a perfect size for my pond. The other plants I have in the pond are oxygenating plants, these are there to help keep the water clean whilst giving the wildlife that much needed oxygen. I have two bunches of Elodea crispa which float around the ponds surface, and another oxygenating plant called Ranunculus Aquatilis, which has the added bonus of flowering from June until September.
I managed to find a pile of pebbles and large rocks in the back of my parents garden, they weren’t needed for anything so I gave them a new home and carefully arranged them around the edge of my pond. This was the perfect way to hide the awful pond liner border and I’m planning on planting a few alpine plants amongst the rocks, although you can easily hide the liner by covering with dirt if you don’t have any rocks laying around! I also placed some of the pebbles and two smaller rocks into the deepest area of the pond so that the frogs or tadpoles can hide from predators. To finish the area off I placed two paving slabs which look like logs to one side of the pond (they were a bargain at a closing down garden centre!) these will lead the way to my grapevine which I am still very adament on having.
My next jobs for that little area include building a small log pile for the frogs to call home and to sow some wildflower seeds around the pond. I managed to pick up a lovely wildflower ‘classic meadow’ seed packet by Thompson and morgan which has UK native flowers and includes perennials and grasses which appear at different stages of the year. I have already planted some verbena, dwarf cosmos, scabious and there are four giant sunflowers growing at the back, also not forgetting ‘Katie’s rose’ bush and the climbing rose at the side of my shed. I expect that in the summer when everything is in full bloom I’m going to have to make some cuts for the years ahead, it looks like it is going to be one jam packed area but I am hoping it won’t be too overwhelming!
I made a video about creating my pond too for those of you who are thinking of creating one in your garden or allotment. I fully recommend it, no matter how small or big the pond it will make a huge difference to the wildlife and it will bring the insects and frogs in which will hopefully eat the slugs. Its a win win situation really 
Mottisfont Abbey and the World of Water!
Its the bank holiday weekend so we decided to go and spend the day at Mottisfont Abbey again, the sun was shining and we set off early to enjoy the day. We just so happened to be passing an aquatic/pond shop called ‘World of Water’ just down the road in Romsey so I thought I would pop in and swap my pond liner on the way (my pond has grown since I brought my small 2m by 1.5m pond liner!) I absolutely love this shop and it’s full of so many inspirational ideas and displays, it even has a large lake at the back and some of most cutest sheds!
I managed to part swap my liner for a larger 4m by 3m one and a very kind shop worker gave me some great advice whilst I was looking confused by the plants, there were so many to choose from! I managed to buy a water forget-me-not (Myosotis scorpioides), an oxygenating common water crowfoot (Ranunculus aquatilis) and two bunches of oxygenating Elodea crispa. The plan is to place the crowfoot and the water forget-me-not onto some shelves in the pond so that their foliage is above the water, and the elodea crispa is simply just placed into the water to do its buisiness. The water forget-me-not is also supposed to be great for egg laying but I also brought it because I just love forget-me-nots and thought that it would look pretty in the pond aswell as bring some colour to the area. Now I have all the plants all I need to do is finish digging my pond, fill it with a layer of sand and lay down the liner, then I will simply let all this rain we are forecast do it’s job!
Oh and I will quickly just mention how beautiful Mottisfont Abbey was today, the roses were starting to bloom and there were iris’s, fox gloves and many more pretty flowers in the walled gardens. It looked so different then when we last visited back in April and we are planning another visit in July (the joys of being a National Trust member!) We had a picnic and tea on the lawn before going on a 3 mile walk around the estate where we encountered wild meadows, lots of elderflower, prancing deer and some little streams. It was a perfect day
Planning a Pond!
I finally made a decision… I’m going to create a little (and by little I mean tiny!) wildlife pond in my flower patch, which has now officially changed its name to my very own ‘Wildlife Corner!’. Yet again I have lost hours on Pinterest looking at all the beautiful and inspirational photographs on there, but these three photographs in particular have inspired me the most. I just love their simplicity and the rustic look to them and I especially love the use of the old butlers sink (I actually have one sitting in my garden!)
You are probably wondering why I had to think so hard about having a pond when really it’s a no brainer, but because my allotment is so small I was simply trying to squish as much as possible into a tiny space and I didn’t want any ground to go to waste. I was also very adament on having flowers, I generally think that every plot should have some flowers somewhere just to spread some colour and to bring in the all important bees!
My original plan was to create a flower patch at the side of my shed and simply jam pack it full of pretty flowers, not forgetting the grape vine! There was going to be sunflowers along the back, verbena, ox-eye daisies, sweet peas, a climbing rose, poppies, cosmos, scabious and even some dill all mixed in together to create a wild and rustic patch. This little area was going to be a place for me to escape, I was going to create a very short path which leads into the centre of the flowers with a little mushroom seat so I could sit down and get lost in the aroma. I am a little bit sad that I am going to loose the space for my little mushroom seat (that I don’t even own but it would have looked nice!) but plans change and although there won’t be room to sit in the patch, it will still hopefully look idyllic.
My new plan doesn’t change much but it will just mean that I won’t beable to walk into the new wildlife patch to sit and relax as the space will be very limited. I am still going to plant a grape vine on one side and I have already planted a rose bush and a climbing rose against my shed, I am also still going to grow 4 sunflowers along the back of the patch. The pond will measure roughly around 80cm by 50cm and will be placed in the centre of the patch with the shorter variety of flowers surrounding it and possibly some log piles or a little house for the frog.
I am hoping to visit a local ‘water world’ this weekend to get some advice aswell as purchasing a pond liner and some oxygenating plants. Ideally I would like to get the pond in as soon as possible, it won’t take long and then I can start planting my flowers around the pond rather then guessing where to plant them. I know, I know! Another thing added to my long list of things to do but I really don’t want to miss the frog season, if there is such a thing? I can’t wait to invite Mr toad and Mrs Frog into their new home
March - Fences and Flowers
Its the end of the month which means theres another new video on my Youtube channel!
Now I realise there is a massive gap between each video so it would be great to get some feedback if thats ok. My main question is:
- Do you like the longer episode videos or would you prefer shorter videos more regularly? i.e instead of posting a video every month containing a few topics like fence building AND flowers, would you prefer shorter weekly videos about each topic seperately?
Any other feedback would be great, good or bad
Creating a Wildlife Friendly Garden
Its officially the worst start to the year in history, we have had the wettest January since records began more than 100 years ago and it looks like the rain wont be stopping anytime soon! I am itching to get up my allotment and start getting it ready for the year ahead but alas, like everyone else I am stuck inside watching my potatoes slowing chit away and dreaming about Spring time. There is a plus side to this bad weather mind you, I have had time to actually sit down and plan my little wildlife friendly flower patch so when it comes to planting all the flowers and making the houses I will be well away (hopefully!)
I have always wanted to grow flowers and I am in love with wild flower meadows, the small delicate flowers simply look beautiful in a small vase on the table. Some of the flowers which I would like to grow are ox-eye daisies, field poppies, cosmea dwarf, gypsophila and scabious. I also want to grow some Verbena which I just adore, as well as some sweet peas and some dill which I think look beautiful as a cut flower! Giant sunflowers will also grace my plot, I just love everything about sunflowers and they would look great lined up next to my shed (and afterwards they can be a treat for the birds!) Another reason for planting flowers in my allotment is the beneficial factor of the bees and what they will bring with them. My fruit bed which will consist of blackcurrants, gooseberries, raspberries and strawberries will all rely on insects to bring about pollination. Some of my vegetables will also benefit from the bees, such as my broad beans, french beans and my pumpkins.
Along with catering for the bees I also would like to create a haven for other wildlife such as hedgehogs, bugs and birds. My plan is to try and make some houses using reclaimed wood and materials which I already have at home or I can pick up at my local reclamation yard. I already have my hedgehog house all planned out and I have been inspired by Pinterest with all the pretty bug houses which have been made using bricks, tiles, bamboo, fircones etc. My bird house is painted to match my shed and is ready to be put up, I have a bird bath and a floor feeding station which I might change to a hanging feeder simply because it will stop the pigeons swooping in. Now all I need is some sun and I can get started!