Filed under: birds, HABITATS, hedges, trees | Tags: birch, cherry, crab apple, rowan, starlings
We planted the ornamental trees on 28th November and a flock of starlings came to inspect the proceedings. Among the many attractive species planted there are several with enormous value for wild life: Crab Apples, which will provide nectar for bees and fruit for birds long into the winter; Rowans, whose orange berries are high in sugars and vitamins for birds and mammals; Birches, whose seeds are enjoyed by small finches, and cherries for nectar and fruit. We were unable to plant the hedge or the orchard; the ground conditions were unsuitable for hedge planting and the nurseries had been unable to lift the fruit trees because of the wet weather. Postponed till January.
Well, the wet has been succeeded by frozen, and now snow lies deep and crisp and not especially even over the whole garden. A bleak midwinter for wildlife; but a start has been made and next year there should be places for birds to shelter and find food when winter comes howling in….
Filed under: Uncategorized
Had to bury a dead wood pigeon which had apparently flown into the window of the church, being able to see through to the other side the poor thing thought it had clear passage. According to the lady next door to the church, it may well have been in panic mode, as the sparrowhawk has been active recently taking prey from her garden. Right enough, there is another suspicious looking pile of pigeon feathers near the potager garden.
The sunflowers several of us planted this summer now have seen ripening. If we aren’t too quick to tidy them up, the seeds will provide valuable food for garden birds, and maybe attract them into the grounds. It is still a bit of a green desert, but tree and orchard planting is going to happen next month, and that should change the shape of things….
Meanwhile, at the inaugural Tai Chi class in the Auchtergaven room, there was another march-past of those black beetles (we had the doors open due to the Indian Summer, now largely passed). They really DO want to come in!
Filed under: HABITATS, Insects, meadows and grassland | Tags: bergamot, butterflies, ladybird, peacock, potato flowers, shield bugs, small tortoiseshell, small white butterfly
A really pretty Small Tortoiseshell butterfly was hovering around the Bergamot (Monarda didyma) that was waiting to get planted in the Potager Garden today, and a Small White (male) as well. But the best place in the church gardens at present for butterflies is the potato “avenue” we planted at the entrance – the potato plants are in flower and since Sunday I have seen several Peacocks and a Small Tortoiseshell on them. Small Tortoiseshells seem to be declining in Central and Southern Scotland, so it’s good to have them here.
Today by the potager there was also a Two-spot Ladbybird, and a BEAUTIFUL Shield Bug, which might have been Troilus luridus, but I am not sure. We planted the bergamot and other herbs to attract more insects.
Thistles, docks and clover appearing in the wild flower meadow and will have to be dealt with.
Filed under: Insects
The most diverse – bio or otherwise – thing about the place recently has been the weather! Monsoon-like rain, hot sun, cool winds, thunder and lightning – and that all in one afternoon! Not much wildlife to watch, and too wet to go hunting in the undergrowth… but ther is SOMETHING out there – something that decided to take shelter from the rain and come into the church centre – a veritable invasion of black beetles. I haven’t seen them yet, so no identification, but Catherine is going to put one in a matchbox for me…
Catherine also reported the incursion of two sheep from the neighbouring field into the garden area, with sorry consequences, but could have been worse. Maybe they were looking for a dry spot too.
Filed under: BEES, birds, HABITATS, Insects, meadows and grassland | Tags: agricultural weeds, Bankfoot, birdsfoot trefoil, blackbird, bladder campion, carder bees, cowslips, cuckoo bees, devils-bit scabious, establishing a meadow, kidney vetch, ladies bedstraw, maiden pink, maintaining a meadow, meadow saxifrage, pied wagtail, pollinators, poppies, primrose, Scotia Seeds, scottish bluebells, self-heal, short meadow mix, speedwell, white-tailed bumblebees, wild flower meadows
We sowed a wild flower mix along the field side of the entrance drive to the church in April. The weather was variable, and germination slow - apart from the annual agricultural weed seeds that were in the soil already! What we have sown is a Wild Flower and Grass Short Meadow Mix, from Scotia Seeds near Brechin, and I’ve made a leaflet to explain how it SHOULD work. Here is the text of the leaflet:
WILDFLOWER MEADOW AT BANKFOOT CHURCH CENTRE
WHY?
We’ve sown a wild flower and grass seeds mix along the field side of the drive into Bankfoot Church Centre to attract bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects, and to provide a shelter and food source for birds and other wildlife. This makes a complex food web which benefits the whole environment. It’s especially important that we do this as so many natural habitats have been destroyed or devalued in the past, and there is concern for the survival of many species, including a number of our native bumble bees, carder bees and cuckoo bees, all of which will benefit directly from our wild flowers. An incredible number of useful bugs thrive at all levels in a meadow – from soil to flowertops!
WHAT FLOWERS WILL THERE BE?
In time, we should find all the following, in addition to several attractive wild grasses:
YARROW KIDNEY VETCH DAISY
SCOTTISH BLUEBELL MAIDEN PINK LADY’S BEDSTRAW
BIRDSFOOT TREFOIL WILD MARJORAM COWSLIP
PRIMROSE SELF-HEAL BLADDER CAMPION MEADOW SAXIFRAGE MEADOW BUTTERCUP SPEEDWELL
DEVILS-BIT SCABIOUS
BUT SOME OF THESE ARE WEEDS!
No, not unless they’re growing in the wrong place! This is Short Meadow Mix from Scotia Seeds in Brechin, designed so that although the proportions will change over the years, none of the plants over-run the rest. The meadow can be maintained at a tidy 10cm for most of the year (if wanted), but must be allowed to flower and seed in summer. All the flowers are perennials and will come back year on year.
WHAT ABOUT ALL THE OTHER WEEDS THAT ARE COMING UP?
Because we started with bare soil, every agricultural weed in Bankfoot will come up to start with – some are pretty but must not be allowed to seed or they will drown out the meadow plants, some of which may take a year to germinate. We will cut them and rake off the cuttings before this happens, and will have to do this several times during the first year.
This means you won’t see any wild flowers before Summer 2010 at the earliest! You may have admired “wild flower meadows” full of poppies and cornflowers at other places like the Broxden roundabout, but these are annual mixes that have to be rotavated, sprayed and re-sown every single year to get that effect. We are hoping for something more permanent and more sustainable at Bankfoot – and we’ll have to be patient!!
HOW WILL THE WILD FLOWER MEADOW BE MAINTAINED?
Once we’ve eliminated all the annual weeds by cutting and raking off, and dug out any stubborn dockens and thistles that we missed first time, the meadow mix will be allowed to establish. As I said, it CAN be cut regularly until May, then left to flower and cut again in late August and regularly through to the end of the season. However, for a more natural appearance (and less work!), it can be cut once in spring and once in late summer/early autumn, using a strimmer or similar – the finish isn’t important!
What IS important is that every time it is cut, the clippings must be raked off and put on the compost heap. If they are left to lie, they “feed” the meadow, and that means many of the flowers will die out and dockens and coarse grasses will start to take over. The poorer the soil, the more diverse the flowers – you NEVER add fertiliser to the sward. The best wild flower meadows are often found growing on brick rubble!
As the meadow develops, we can insert plugs of other suitable wild flowers where required – we have already planted some cowslips to give it a head start. The meadow will change from year to year naturally as a natural ecosystem would – we aim to keep it as diverse as possible to benefit the most wildlife.
Well, the first wildlife Catherine and I noticed when sowing was the pied wagtail which followed us about – we were wondering if there would be any seed left to germinate by the time he’d finished! The blackbird was slightly more helpful, foraging over where Catherine had dug out docks and thistles, presumably looking for worms. As you can see from the leaflet, we want the soil to be as rubbish as possible, so are not too worried about his activities.
The first weeds to come up were Red Leg (Persicaria), and Fumitory, followed by field poppies. There is also quite a bit of red deadnettle to contend with. At present the fumitory is proving an amazing nectar source for White-tailed bumblebee workers, indicating there is probably a good population nesting nearby. However, once the flowers even think of fading we’ll be cutting them down. Being annuals, the weeds will die and hopefully won’t have spread seed.
Practically, though we are going to have some “invaders” regularly from the fenceline, where we weren’t able to cultivate the ground. And we will probably allow in a few poppies each year because they are so pretty….. Anyway, don’t hold your breath – establishing a perennial meadow like this takes time and it may not look too stunning for a year or too, but trust me, nature will be getting the benefit!
Filed under: Uncategorized
In April, we began to develop the grounds around the new eco-church at Bankfoot, from a mixture of bare soil and builder’s rubble to, hopefully, something that will serve the community, attract lots of wildlife and be really beautiful. There are lots of plans and ideas – trees, an orchard, community potager beds – but of course we are strapped for cash, and it will all take time, effort and initiative.
This blog is going to be part of a journal to monitor the changes in biodiversity – plant, animal, bird, insect and fungi species – we see as the grounds develop. We want to develop a record of what creatures share the site with us, and to check we are doing our job well in creating a church centre that benefits the whole of nature.
IF YOU ARE AROUND THE CHURCH CENTRE IN BANKFOOT AND NOTICE ANY WILDLIFE OR WILD PLANTS IN PARTICULAR PLEASE ADD A COMMENT HERE ON THE BLOG!!! (or let me know and I’ll make sure it goes in.)
