Gardening for wildlife

[Flick of the Elbow]

Am experimenting with letting the lawn run wild. Results are a bit patchy so far, some bits just look a mess but others are pleasingly colourful.

The bees seem to like them too.
Might try sowing some wild flower seed in the autumn. Have been perusing the Scotia Seeds website, https://www.scotiaseeds.co.uk/product-category/seed-mixtures/
Are others here doing this sort of thing ?

 

[jowwy]

Am experimenting with letting the lawn run wild. Results are a bit patchy so far, some bits just look a mess but others are pleasingly colourful.
View attachment 596773
The bees seem to like them too.
Might try sowing some wild flower seed in the autumn. Have been perusing the Scotia Seeds website, https://www.scotiaseeds.co.uk/product-category/seed-mixtures/
Are others here doing this sort of thing ?

no - there is no way i could let my lawn go like that, it would kill me.......i got plenty of plants and tress around the boarders for them to feed on

 

[Tail End Charlie]

Am experimenting with letting the lawn run wild. Results are a bit patchy so far, some bits just look a mess but others are pleasingly colourful.
View attachment 596773
The bees seem to like them too.
Might try sowing some wild flower seed in the autumn. Have been perusing the Scotia Seeds website, https://www.scotiaseeds.co.uk/product-category/seed-mixtures/
Are others here doing this sort of thing ?

Yes, I just mow paths through my grass and have been actively planting various wildflowers. It's amazing what turns up of its own accord. The bees, butterflies and ladybirds love it as do I when I lie in the long grass and listen.
I now manage it so that half the area is for the spring flowers (bees) and the other half is for grasses to seed (ladybirds). Oh and loads of daffodils naturalising.
Smooth green lawns look sterile to me.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

I collect seed from wildflowers growing locally in the hedgerows.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

If you do buy seed I would suggest starting by getting loads of yellow rattle, it's a parasitic plant which weakens the grasses allowing wildflowers to flourish, it's a lovely plant in its own right aswell.
A proper wildflower meadow needs a lot of preparation, but most people, me included, just want more colour in their grass so learn to love the various clovers and self heal (which I see you have) and it can become a real wildlife haven.

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

There is something seriously wrong with UK attitudes to wildlife. Just a couple of examples from my twitter feed this morning.

 

[PaulSB]

Gardening for wildlife is something we have been doing both for decades. Sometimes it's a conscious decision, others it just seems sensible. We have a small garden and large allotment, in the main Mrs P runs the garden and the allotment is mine.

We never use chemicals other than Algon on the paved back yard and small area at the front and on the garden lawn - moss killer annually. In the garden pests are generally ignored but on roses or clematis I do run my fingers over stems to remove aphid. Plants for the garden are a careful selection of varieties which are insect friendly and others which fit the bill. It's a common misconception if one has plenty of flowers in beds and borders that's all that is needed. Many modern varieties and hybrids are sterile and of little use to insect life. An insect friendly garden needs reasonably careful selection of older varieties and insect friendly plants which flower throughout the seasons. Our garden is swarming with bees often as many as 50 on a single plant.

Our garden lawn is treated four times a year by Green Thumb. It's a flat green sterile space of zero beauty. The allotment grass is a riot of colour from April onwards and alive with bees and other pollinators. I cut it fairly high, perhaps 2", regularly. Any unused areas on the allotment are left to seed freely. We did have a problem with cabbage white two years ago but rarely have pest problems.

Our fences have gaps at the bottom, our hedgerow bottoms are full of wild plants and we do hedgehog release.

Gardening and growing is about working with nature not controlling it. I look at manicured gardens and think why?

My allotment is highly productive, looks very well cared for and I never have to kill anything to achieve this!

 

[All uphill]

We have left an area of grass unmown this year after sowing yellow rattle. The results are mixed so far with long grass dominating, but we will persist. I'm collecting seeds and have planted lots of bulbs in the hope of creating an insect friendly area over two or three years.

We have three huge mature hebes that are covered in bees!

 

[fossyant]

Lavender is fantastic for bees. Got two massive plants at the caravan. Need to get more for home.

 

[Justified_Sinner]

Am experimenting with letting the lawn run wild.

Lawns are just about the most environmentally damaging thing you can do in the garden: a monoculture. Bad for wildlife, bad for the water table... congratulations on making the meadow - the complete reverse: supremely good for the environment, encouraging diversity and water retention. Also, it looks SO much better!

 

[mudsticks]

Am experimenting with letting the lawn run wild. Results are a bit patchy so far, some bits just look a mess but others are pleasingly colourful.
View attachment 596773
The bees seem to like them too.
Might try sowing some wild flower seed in the autumn. Have been perusing the Scotia Seeds website, https://www.scotiaseeds.co.uk/product-category/seed-mixtures/
Are others here doing this sort of thing ?

This is how I farm, so many bugs and pollinators and birds, it can even be quite deafening at times.

I have to take a few physical precautions such as fencing and nets against wildlife that might want to eat crops.

But generally everything sorts itself out, and is in good balance.

I don't have to buy in expensive inputs, or spend time spraying things so less work for me.

Yes, I just mow paths through my grass and have been actively planting various wildflowers. It's amazing what turns up of its own accord. The bees, butterflies and ladybirds love it as do I when I lie in the long grass and listen.
I now manage it so that half the area is for the spring flowers (bees) and the other half is for grasses to seed (ladybirds). Oh and loads of daffodils naturalising.
Smooth green lawns look sterile to me.

I spent a lot of my childhood lying on my belly looking at the bugs in the grass.

I guess even then it made sense that that was where all the important stuff was going on.

Without all the little critters, we're doomed, they're the base of the food chain.

 

[Justified_Sinner]

View attachment 597236

Dear god. That is shocking.
The others are bad, too, but this is grim in the extreme.

I think it is interesting as I don't believe for one moment that the majority of people in the UK do hate wildlife but they definitely don't understand it. I am guessing (NB: no empirical evidence!) that most people never think beyond their immediate action, "Oh dear, there are ants..." deal with the ants and never consider the knock-on effects.

 

[mudsticks]

Dear god. That is shocking.
The others are bad, too, but this is grim in the extreme.

I think it is interesting as I don't believe for one moment that the majority of people in the UK do hate wildlife but they definitely don't understand it. I am guessing (NB: no empirical evidence!) that most people never think beyond their immediate action, "Oh dear, there are ants..." deal with the ants and never consider the knock-on effects.

To be honest I don't think the UK is stand out bad on this.

You go to any other farm store or garden centre in the western world and it's like this, full of chemicals to kill, and control..

If anything we're a bit more 'wildlife friendly'

Things like RSPB etc are very popular.

Although it doesn't always lead to 'joined up thinking' people will happily spend loads of money on bird food .

Or even on creating 'wildflower meadows'..

All good stuff.

But if it's suggested they might consider buying more 'wildlife friendly' (organically produced) food for themselves.??

"Oh no, that's too expensive"

And of course there's that 'meddlesome EU' trying to control or ban insecticides that devastate pollinators.


It's getting people to consider both the detail, and the bigger picture at the same time, that is a tricky thing to pull off.

 

[PaulSB]

The bug, that's a typo which can stay - I meant big, issue is many people don't understand. I live in a small village of terraced gardens. On our terrace there are 11 cottages and no fences or hedges between between the gardens - it's one big garden. There is a continuous hawthorn hedge along the garden tops This creates a certain community and one needs to be of a certain disposition to enjoy it.

One couple moved in a few years ago and set about creating their idyllic country cottage - FFS you just bought one, end of! The garden is regimented, utterly free of weed, straight lines etc. It's common opinion they just don't get community life.

The lady of the house once told me how she was planning a wildlife area. The same weekend her husband ripped out the undergrowth in the hawthorn hedge including the base of wild roses and honeysuckle, sprayed off the weed and put down gravel. I was gobsmacked.

I tried to explain about hedgehog runs etc. Deaf ears. People need education in these matters. The biggest culprit and sinner against nature are garden makeover programmes - especially Charlie Dimmock and the Rich brothers. Decking, gravel, more decking, concrete and a couple of 3x2 raised beds for veggies.

 

[mudsticks]

The bug, that's a typo which can stay - I meant big, issue is many people don't understand. I live in a small village of terraced gardens. On our terrace there are 11 cottages and no fences or hedges between between the gardens - it's one big garden. There is a continuous hawthorn hedge along the garden tops This creates a certain community and one needs to be of a certain disposition to enjoy it.

One couple moved in a few years ago and set about creating their idyllic country cottage - FFS you just bought one, end of! The garden is regimented, utterly free of weed, straight lines etc. It's common opinion they just don't get community life.

The lady of the house once told me how she was planning a wildlife area. The same weekend her husband ripped out the undergrowth in the hawthorn hedge including the base of wild roses and honeysuckle, sprayed off the weed and put down gravel. I was gobsmacked.

I tried to explain about hedgehog runs etc. Deaf ears. People need education in these matters. The biggest culprit and sinner against nature are garden makeover programmes - especially Charlie Dimmock and the Rich brothers. Decking, gravel, more decking, concrete and a couple of 3x2 raised beds for veggies.

Its a mindset thing.

We're told that we need to be 'in control' orchestrate, and buy 'product' or 'service*' to achieve certain ends .

Which is of course all good business for people who want to sell 'product' or 'service'.

You can self educate on methodology, and gain knowledge and experience from other people, and by doing it yourself

But farming and gardening like this, cooperatively with nature, and with our neighbours, doesn't much 'profit' any third party .

*Not to diminish the value of 'expert ' services or knowledge brought in at the right time of place.