HOME & GARDEN

DIGGING DEEP

Don’t ditch the dandelions!

With things warming up and extra light afforded us during this time of year, our plants and flowers should be blooming. But they aren’t the only things that benefit from the long, warm days – weeds make the most of it too, and seem to spring up just as soon as your back is turned!

While a cleverly cultivated outdoor space is a beautiful thing, it is also worth remembering that weeds are simply plants in the wrong area.

Take the cheery dandelion, for example. They are flowering fantastically just now, and are a valuable, early food source for bumblebees and solitary bees, hover flies, day flying moths and butterflies who make the most of their nectar and pollen.

If they aren’t interfering with your best garden displays, would you consider letting the dandelion stay?

Their bright yellow flowers are visible from March through to October, but this time of year is when they are at their most abundant.

They are easily adaptable and can grow anywhere – from fields and roadsides through to your carefully maintained garden, and their seeds are plentiful; a flower can have as many as 400, although on average around 180 are released from each head.

If left to its own devices, dandelion plants have been found to survive between 10 and 13 years, which is quite something – though not if you are a gardener being driven mad by this persistent player which keeps on trucking despite best efforts to remove it.

Before having a lovely lawn became a thing, dandelions were a favourite blossom – and grass was often moved out so the dandelions could flourish!

These masters of survival have long been revered for their first aid properties and 100s of years ago they were used to treat a variety of ailments; from warts to the plague.

And it seems that our ancestors really were onto something: That little plant that you show such disdain for, happens to be rich in vitamins A and C, and also boasts a whole load of other goodness.

In her book Eating on the Wild Side, author Jo Robinson said that compared to spinach, dandelion leaves have eight times more antioxidants and two times more calcium. They are also said to be a good source of iron, magnesium and potassium.

June is a wonderful time of year with gardens at their most exuberant, and we have warm days and long summer evenings in which to enjoy the scents of the flowers and the sounds of birds and insects. A very lovely shrub which flowers in May and early June is Rubus Tridel ‘Benenden’ - which is a medium-sized deciduous shrub with arching stems, tolerant of most soil conditions and generally disease and trouble free. When in bloom, the stems are studded with large, white saucer shaped flowers, similar to a single rose, and approximately 3” in diameter.

Although related to roses and blackberries, it is completely thornless which makes pruning when needed a painless operation. This is best undertaken just after flowering. Reduce the stems by about one-third, cutting just above a strong new shoot, and removing one or two old stems at the base to gradually reinvigorate the plant.

As with many shrubs, it makes a spectacular frame for one of the spring-flowering clematis, for example varieties of C.alpina or C macropetala, but not C. montana as this is too vigorous. The clematis will flower in April and May and, although not needing to be pruned, will not suffer if it is trimmed back a bit when pruning the Rubus.

The colours of these varieties vary from white and primrose through to pink and blue and, depending on whether it has been an early spring, the flowering times may overlap but they would all complement the Rubus.

It’s an ideal time to take softwood cuttings – and don’t forget to keep dead-heading to prolong the flowering season of many plants!

Today, dandelion tea is readily available to purchase and the leaves act as a diuretic and help aid digestion, and while the recipes have changed with time, just what do you suppose dandelion and burdock is all about?!

The drink has been taken in this country since the Middle Ages, and while it’s a readily available carbonated treat today, in bygone times it was a type of mead.

As a youngster, my rabbit would love it when I’d return home having spied and collected some spectacularly sized dandelion leaves, which would be washed and presented before Currants devoured them with glee.

My bunny and our pollinators clearly know a good thing when they see one.

Whether you love it or hate it, the resilient dandelion is certainly a fascinating plant with a long and rich history, and try as you might, this persistent garden dweller is going nowhere anytime soon.

When you spray nasty pesticides or chop one down, you also cut down a food source for Bertie Bee, which is food for thought...

Dandelions provide an early food source for bumblebees and solitary bees

Top Tip...

Greenhouses can overheat at this time of year, and need adequate humidity and shade to ensure plants are happy and leaves aren’t being damaged.

If it’s a gloriously hot day, and a balmy night, feel free to leave the doors to your greenhouse open throughout. When it comes to humidity (necessary to prevent heat damage during hot spells), damping down usually dry, hard areas like pathways in greenhouses is a brilliant and simple way to avoid problems.

How does your garden grow?

Anne Slape and Margaret Pateman

> Denton & District Gardening Club is a small, friendly club which meets on a Monday evening every month. New members and visitors are always welcome. For more information please contact Margaret at m.pateman@yahoo.co.uk or 01604 890875.

Wooden cloud breakfast board and egg cup set £45

bluebrontide.com SUSTAINABLE Summer Scrubber patchouli & mango eco friendly deodorant £5.99

Sustainability is at the forefront of everyone’s mind these days, and for good reason. From bamboo toothbrushes and reusable cotton pads, to gorgeous gifts and statement bags, there are so many sustainable swaps available to help us be kinder to the environment, so we’ve gathered a collection of the best eco-friendly products our brands have to offer to help you take the plunge.

Zero waste gift set - kitchen starter £34

pasoluna.co.uk Bee cushion £41

jjtextile.co.uk oceanandbee.co.uk

Ecru and dark grey recycled cotton throw £20.90

beaumonde.co.uk

Bamboo reusable safari travel mug £12

nhmshop.co.uk

FEATURED BRANDS... If you would like to see your brand or business featured in Pulse, in print or online get in touch: nnpulse@pulsegroupmedia.co.uk

Biodegradable bowl covers £17.95

tabithaeve.co.uk

African shopping basket £55 Mandarin, bergamot, rosemary & cedar salt soap £9.90

mondayonline.co.uk

Masters of the Skies

All Pics: Mike Alibone Pic: Adrian Leybourn

They’re back. Since the first arrivals in late April, Swifts have been pouring into the UK in their thousands after spending the winter up to 7,000 miles away in Africa. Look skyward in June and you may be lucky enough to see these unique, scythewinged aerial acrobats, having given away their presence by their unmistakable, high-pitched, harsh screaming calls – truly one of the most distinctive sounds of summer. boxes, which can be fitted to the outsides of houses and other buildings. Tall buildings are ideal, allowing easy access for the birds and to give a prime example, volunteers working with idverde and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds at St. Benedict’s Church, Northampton constructed a number of boxes, which have now been fitted to the church tower. Enlightened and green-thinking construction companies are also now fitting nest boxes to new buildings, as well as ‘Swift Bricks’ which perform the same function and can be inset into walls as the bricks are being laid. Setting up boxes is one thing, of course but attracting Swifts to new sites is another. This is where technology comes in. A small device with a speaker can be mounted near the boxes and Swifts’ calls can be played to attract them. It works!

Hopefully we can help restore the Swift population to its former level by implementing these small changes to new buildings and construction sites. Things could be looking up in more ways than one.

Pic: Rob Jones Swifts are one of our most iconic migratory visitors but their numbers are starting to fall dangerously low. There are ways in which we can offer them a helping hand though, writes Mike Alibone.

Swifts are gregarious birds, wheeling and diving in flocks as they feed on flying insects above towns, villages and open countryside. Appearing almost black to the naked eye, they are larger and less colourful than Swallows and House Martins and being strictly aerial, they don’t share the same habits, such as perching on wires, fences and vegetation.

Known to live up to 30 years, they pair for life, both mating and sleeping on the wing, as well as showing strong breeding site fidelity, returning to the same place to nest year after year. But this is where things Common Swift clinging to a wall containing entrance openings to internal nest boxes begin to fall down. Having traditionally nested in cracks in walls and roofs of old buildings, they are now finding these sites harder to locate as many of these are demolished, or have benefited from improved insulation, while modern buildings are better constructed, offering no such opportunities for breeding.

This, among other factors, has contributed to a dramatic decline in numbers, with Swift now added to the UK’s ‘Red List’ of conservation concern as the population is believed to have declined by more than 50% in the last 25 years.

Help is at hand, however, and there has now web: Northantsbirds.com emerged a healthy online trade in Swift nest twitter: @bonxie