Nature's Corner

Nature’s Corner – Cornel Nature

Give Bees a chance...

A few years ago upon my retirement, we were fortunate enough to acquire a small plot of land opposite where we live with the sole intention of creating a space for nature, something to enjoy whilst leading a life of leisure (that’ll be the day!); a wildlife garden.

The area had been unused for many years and so there was plenty of rubble and a massive amount of overgrowth that had to be removed. A huge fabric barrier that had been laid down to prevent weeds covered the whole area too; this had probably seemed a good idea to the previous owner in the beginning but alas, the dreaded weeds eventually took over again and decided to grow on top of the membrane....a true nightmare really and of course wanting to plant fruit trees and a perimeter hedge it was a necessity to rid the area of this material, so a small digger and a mate in the form of Dave Ellis to drive it were hired to do the job (in Dave’s case a cuppa now and again and a treat to a Sunday lunch!).

Once cleared a shed, donated by friends was erected and fruit trees planted, 8 in all, 3 x Apple, 2 x Pear and 3 x Cherry. A small pond approximately 7 ft x 5 ft and 2 ft at its deepest was dug with slightly raised edges, and a rockery around the pond perimeter. A few Lilies and aerating plants along with Water Hyacinth were added and other than adding a few Sticklebacks, Water Snails and tiny Froglets from a friend’s pond it was left to its own devices.

All the above work was done in March 2021 and so by the May and into June with all that disturbed ground, we were absolutely delighted to see thousands of Poppies blooming readily without even sowing a seed! You could never imagine such a variety existed, absolutely stunning.

We had sown wildflower seeds bought from Home Bargains on the advice of a friend as a medium size box of these was in the region of £2.50 and like our friend, who had not expected anything too spectacular from this mix, we were so pleasantly surprised as bloom after bloom appeared amongst the already very satisfying Poppy flowers, some of which we had certainly never seen or heard of before. Phacelia being one of the main ingredients of this mix as well as Borage, both sporting bright blue flowers which the Bees are absolutely besotted with.

I think probably that the Poppy population overshadowed many of the wildflowers in the seed mix for the first year, although to sit in the garden area for a while and listen to the humming of the bees and Hover flies was a true delight, like summer days I can remember as a kid in a meadow.

The second year, surprisingly to us came with a different swathe of colour in

the way of far fewer Poppies as the ground was not now disturbed as extensively, but along with a respectable number of them came Phacelia, Borage, some Lungwort and Comfrey which Bees absolutely adore but need a bit of space. Also appearing were Dog Daisies, ground hugging Scarlet Pimpernel, Dead Red Nettle, plenty of Forget me not, both blue and the white which is so daintily beautiful.

By now the pond having become more naturally established contained a couple of Common Newts which had found their own way there. We introduced more Frogspawn in the March 2022 as it takes two to three years for frogs to breed from spawning, and so hopefully we will have a perpetual supply next year onwards,

Buddleias are a known must for Bees and Butterflies and quite a number of natural as well as a yellow variety have been planted and live up to their name as “Butterfly Bushes” with Bumble Bees also becoming seemingly drunk on the yellow variety sometimes before sitting out their hangovers and eventually flying off. Grasses are the biggest problem with any wildflower garden really as they will continually attempt to regain a stronghold, but by pulling out as much as possible preferably in clumps shaking the soils and getting rid, the ground becomes disturbed again and promotes Poppy growth.

The Bee hotels fitted on the side of the shed in full Sun have really come up trumps attracting dozens of solitary Bees which buzz around us, even landing on us on occasion as if to let us inspect their dapperness more closely when we enjoy a drink on the tiny sitting area created. They are almost completely unwilling to sting unless strongly antagonised by all accounts, watching them busily creating future Bees and plugging the tiny holes over the next generation is amazing, we fitted five hotels and have around 70%-hole usage

All in all, one of the best things we’ve done for them and us, perfect for a wind down and once the hedging comprising Elder, Rowan, Hazel and of course Hawthorn is in its third or fourth year we may even get a few birds nesting in there, especially with what is a good insect food supply close to hand.

Of course a dedicated garden is not an essential requirement to enjoy these spectacles, a small or medium patch set aside among the more manicured garden even can be as productive for those we have for too long taken for granted, our Bees and Bugs.....Dave Parry.