Gardens and wildlife
- Thread starter Maz
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As the months are flying by already it will be May before too long & I just wondered if anyone here does No mow may
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We do, but I'd never heard of No mow May before (which is a bit of tongue twister ha ha). Because of the bluebells in the front lawn. There are so many you can't really mow round them. It's a pain actually as by the time the bluebells have finished, the grass is too long for the mower! Then it has to be strimmed and raked up.
I always intend to do a first cut, round the bluebells before they have really got going but never quite manage it - and it's also been very wet this year.
I always intend to do a first cut, round the bluebells before they have really got going but never quite manage it - and it's also been very wet this year.
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I didn't realise you could actually sign up for it - I'll go back and read properly! The back garden gets mowed as no bulbs in the lawn. And tbh I wouldn't feel guilty about it as part of the farm has wildflower meadows which are protected in the area. But I guess the more people do it, the more wildflower seeds will spread. I assume the lesser celandine got blown in from a wildflower meadow somewhere as I didn't put them there.
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Just saw it is a "Plantlife" project. I did used to be a member of Plantlife for a few years. Went on one of their Wildlfower walks one year - many years ago now. I would love to have the gardens as wildflower gardens and no grass! Whenever I've sown a load of wildflower seeds, they didn't grow!
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Signing up is as much a way of showing support as anything else if you do it anyway really.
I do like Plantlife, they do some really good work.
Sowing a wild flower meadow isn’t always as easy as it sounds, I’m sure a lot of people get put off when things don’t grow.
I tend to go for plug plants rather than seeds for most things & just look to see what grows locally too, I know I’m never going to have a lovely garden of red poppies as they hate all the rain so you have to find the right plants for the right place.
I’m not sure how celandines spread but they do spread like mad! There’s quite a lot growing by streams & rivers or just damp woodland here, I picked mine by the side of the road years ago & they’re all over the garden now, I know some people don’t like that but they don’t last long before they disappear completely leaves & all until the next year.
I do like Plantlife, they do some really good work.
Sowing a wild flower meadow isn’t always as easy as it sounds, I’m sure a lot of people get put off when things don’t grow.
I tend to go for plug plants rather than seeds for most things & just look to see what grows locally too, I know I’m never going to have a lovely garden of red poppies as they hate all the rain so you have to find the right plants for the right place.
I’m not sure how celandines spread but they do spread like mad! There’s quite a lot growing by streams & rivers or just damp woodland here, I picked mine by the side of the road years ago & they’re all over the garden now, I know some people don’t like that but they don’t last long before they disappear completely leaves & all until the next year.
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I think the Celandines are lovely. Our lawn isn't much of a lawn anyway - it's very mossy. I haven't had much luck with plugs either 
My primrose plugs took that I put in the lawn last year but the rabbits have nibbled them. I usually have a cowslip plant flowers in the lawn too but no sign of that yet and I suspect that has been nibbled too! It's very annoying. I can't really do a lot of gardening these days anyway which is why I planted things like bulbs! So I had something to look at that was pretty maintenance free.
My primrose plugs took that I put in the lawn last year but the rabbits have nibbled them. I usually have a cowslip plant flowers in the lawn too but no sign of that yet and I suspect that has been nibbled too! It's very annoying. I can't really do a lot of gardening these days anyway which is why I planted things like bulbs! So I had something to look at that was pretty maintenance free.
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You have some. mice shrubs too don’t you, I hope the rabbits didn’t eat your berberis!
I won’t be able to do any gardening this year either so it will just have to take care of itself for now, hopefully there will still be plenty of food for the few bees that remain, they have been buzzing in the flowering currant the last few days or so, a bit wet again today though.
I won’t be able to do any gardening this year either so it will just have to take care of itself for now, hopefully there will still be plenty of food for the few bees that remain, they have been buzzing in the flowering currant the last few days or so, a bit wet again today though.
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No they haven't touched the berberis or the potentilla but a few other plants and shrubs got killed in the back garden including a climbing rose - they stripped all the bark off! Thankfully they don't seem to like the remaining shrubs 
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It’s much warmer here today and even better tomorrow. We went for a walk after lunch alongside the Thames.
We spotted a black mother duck, not a typical brown female mallard, with 3 tiny ducklings. Later on, a pair of Egyptian geese were out with 8 babies. So the first signs of new life and they were all feeding well.
We spotted a black mother duck, not a typical brown female mallard, with 3 tiny ducklings. Later on, a pair of Egyptian geese were out with 8 babies. So the first signs of new life and they were all feeding well.
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Lovely to spend some time in the garden today...mowed the lawns this morning, then had my first cup of tea in the garden this year in the afternoon 
️ Lots of things just coming into flower 
Epimedium
Choisya (loads of imsects flying round this!)
Bergenia (Elephants ears)
Persicaria (one of my favourites!)
️ Lots of things just coming into flower Epimedium
Choisya (loads of imsects flying round this!)
Bergenia (Elephants ears)
Persicaria (one of my favourites!)
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Hellebore and heuchera
Ferns are beginning to unfurl
Bluebells
My dogs ashes are buried under the choisya. Each spring and summer he would bury his toys under this bush
Ferns are beginning to unfurl
Bluebells
My dogs ashes are buried under the choisya. Each spring and summer he would bury his toys under this bush
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We went for our afternoon walk and chose the side of the river where I have seen the baby geese.
The tide had only just turned to go out and so the family were well up near the path and I had to have several goes to get both parents and all 8 goslings in the frame as they wizzed about!