Introducing the gardens.

My garden is on a bedrock of chalk, was once farmland and the typical environment/habitat is chalk grassland, one of the rarest natural areas in all of Britain.

It is worth bearing in mind that all the traditional hay meadows and grasslands that were present in the 1940’s in the U.K. only roughly 3% remain, this is a shocking figure, most have been “improved” by the application of herbicides which kill all plants, pesticides which don’t just kill “pest” species but the insects that feed on and control pests and inorganic fertilisers which were, at first dumped on to the land to help get rid of the waste produced by munitions factories, this industry has long gone but the chemical production remains. The soils which are treated with inorganic fertilisers grow only 1 or 2 grass species and make livestock grow quickly, however a traditional hay meadow with more species will give livestock a better flavour, think of wild garlic or thyme and many plants like Sanfoin are a natural dewormers and birds foot trefoil gets rid of bloat, meaning less on vet bills and harmful chemicals going into the human food chain. It is estimated that going back to traditional hay making only reduces production by about 10% and is more economical in the long run for the farmer. There are plenty of natural, incredibly viable alternative plant foods which can be made at home or bought commercially and actually help improve diversity and the environment.

What is astounding and very heartening, more and more of us wanting to improve and help our environment and this is where you come into this, if all of the gardens in U.K. were put together we would have a nature reserve the size of Suffolk! If we each concentrate on our own back yards the effect will ripple out. We can do this and even small improvements are better than none and going organic is a money saving and easy step we can all do in our gardens and allotments. It is too late in the year now to start applying nitrogen rich fertilisers to plants but I’ll show you how next year. There is no need and in fact it is detrimental to any wild area to improve the soil with fertilisers, keep these for your prized vegetables and flowers only.

My garden is 14 metres by 24 metres out the back and front, the front is south facing so gets a lot of sun, the back is shadier and faces to the north, both give unique growing opportunities. The front lawn is being grown as typical hay meadow and is only 3 years in the making so the balance isn’t quite there but is getting better year on year with new species arriving all the time! It is very exciting to watch!

This is the front garden on the 8th June 2023 with a buff tailed bumble bee (Bombus terrestris) nectaring on some hay rattle. Hay rattle (Rhinanthus minor,) is a fascinating plant, it is a hemiparasite, so it can get food from its host species, often vigorous grasses and from the sunlight by photosynthesis and because it has the ability to weaken grass, it is known as the “meadow maker” allowing other weaker species that can’t compete with grasses to thrive. In any sunny area where meadow is desired this should be the first plant that is sown in autumn, a warning, it is tricky to germinate as seeds need to be fresh and also needs a period of cold to germinate successfully. I’ll be cutting in August and I will document as then we are starting from scratch, together. I’m currently harvesting a few hay rattle seed heads ready for the cut and sowing later. This video was taken on the 24th June 2023 it is apparently tradition to cut hay when hay rattle, rattles, but this practice actually doesn’t allow later flowering species to set seed, so I like to do my cutting on August bank holiday, this timing will allow the grasshopper nymphs to mature and lay eggs as well.

The first flowers to colonise are ox eye daisies, (Leucanthemum vulgare) picture taken on the 12th June 2023.

The back garden is my favourite place to sit, there are pockets where there is constant sun, so there is more of a mixture of species out the back. I mostly grow native wildflowers, (or as my neighbours who are most definitely wrong like to call them,“weeds”) plants or shrubs that grow particularly well on the soil and position. I also grow some fruit, vegetables, herbs and other interesting plants I enjoy growing.

I also have a wildlife pond, a bog & a few areas that need dealing with but not yet!

Here is the first of the froglets on the 10th June 2023 of the common frog (Rana temporaria)

And this is is the pond area, in U.K. we are experiencing a period of hot and very dry weather, otherwise known as “summer.” The water is much lower than it should be but I only use rain water to fill, it is a raised area so it’s safe for any passing toddlers to look into as long as 2 feet stay on the ground! I have a granddaughter (2) who is fascinated by it! The pond being raised with log piles at each end give access and hiding retreats for the creatures who reside and is a good compromise, it’s also easier for me to manage as I don’t have to lay on the ground to weed!

It is overgrown and needs some work but that is for later as the damsel and dragon flies are starting to emerge, I will weed out some vegetation as the season progresses and little and often is better than all at once, always leave vegetation by the sides of the pond so anything inadvertently pulled out can get back in.

The back meadow is more established, there are quite a few species of grass but none proliferate, I do have an awful lot of common or rough hawkbit (tall yellow) (Leontodon hispidus) and smooth cats ear (also tall yellow!)(Hypochaeris glabra) I also have in the more mown areas, common daisy (Bellis perrennis) Heal all, (purple) (Prunella vulgaris) birds foot trefoil, (short yellow foreground) (Lotus corniculatus) and white clover (shaggy looking article) (Trifolium repens) this is an area that is known as a tapestry garden after the Reading University’s trials, I prefer to call them flowery meads, lawns intentionally sown with species that can handle grazing or cutting. Other species are available and it’s best to check out your local area to see what grows best. There are a lot of of these plants in the road side verges in my local area now that the borough have started to maintain verges as meadow and the areas that need cutting for safety reasons, these and a few other species are thriving.

This is Derek he’s a shifty character likes to make the frogs leap sometimes 3-4 feet in the air!