greenbenchramblings

Wildlife Oasis

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 3, 2011

Whilst gardening today I was aware of so much wildlife around us even this late in the year. The bird feeding stations were unusually busy and birds moved though the borders searching for insects and seeds. Nuthatches have returned this year after a three-year absence and the blackcaps have arrived for the winter. The mixed titmice flocks lead by the Long Tails visit regularly and bring the garden to life. There are still insects around and the occasional bee and wasp. The Field Voles and Shrews make forays into the borders in search of their meals. It has not taken a great deal of effort to encourage our wildlife but certainly benefit from seeing and hearing it all around us whenever we are in the garden, so why are there not nature reserves on every spare patch of land in town and country? Look out for a future blog about our wildlife gardening efforts.

When on holiday in Dorset in the early autumn we were amazed by the RSPB reserve in Weymouth, Radipole, which is a true wildlife oasis in this busy seaside town. It is a wonderful place! So much nature just where you expect to see very little. We were treated to sightings of kingfisher, hobby, marsh harrier, little egret, snipe, reed bunting and warblers aplenty.

We found the walks around the reserve easy as they were flat and comfortable and refreshments were at hand via the bountiful blackberry bushes alongside the tracks. One section of the track is bordered with buddlejas specially planted for butterflies and wildflowers abound.

The reserve is home to rarities such as bittern, bearded tit and cettis warbler as well as many species of wader, duck and warblers such as sedge and grasshopper. As well as the birds otter are regularly spotted. The huge variety of species here is due to the variety of habitat which include lagoon and reedbed.

And all this is found alongside busy town roads, bustling junctions and retail parks. We thought we were lost when we found ourselves in a town car park until we spotted the thatched roof of the little visitors’ centre right at the far end. The welcome is so warm – all RSPB centres give a warm welcome to their visitors but the welcome here is warmer than the norm. The volunteers are full of useful information and will talk you through recent sightings and the best places to get good views. We arrived in a heavy downpour but enjoyed a good cup of coffee a chat with a volunteer and a view over the lagoon from the centre’s huge viewing window. We had a brilliant day and can recommend it to anyone visiting the South West.

Tags Dorset, RSPB, waders, warblers

garden design garden photography gardening

Green on Green

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 2, 2011

Garden designers often talk about colour contrasts such as blues and yellows and about how important green is as a foil for other colours. but what about two shades of green working together. Just think of the fronds of vivid green ferns bursting out from the green paddle leaves of the hosta. in her book entitled “The Gardener’s Pallette” the American garden writer Sydney Ellison wrote “In nature, green is the colour of life” and “It is the colour that makes fewest demands on the human eye.” In most gardening books green is discussed as a foil for other colours and rarely considered as important in its own right.

I searched through photos I have taken this year that featured green for its own sake not merely acting as a foil. Here follows a selection. They prove how powerful greens are!

The grass, Hakanechloa macra , moves slowly like waves in the slightest breeze and here in Neil Lucas’ garden, look great as a sea of green for a specimen tree to burst out of. The plain green Hakanechloa often looks better than its variegated cousin but is rarely seen for sale. It deserves more recognition.

Neil’s use of the simple green sheet of grass under a tree displays brilliant design skills. This photo is the absolute opposite – an accidental paring of two contrasting greens – where a pure bright green apple has dropped onto a neatly clipped box hedge in a potager.

The first photo illustrated how a gardener used green so effectively, the second how an accident can produce beauty in greens and the above one shows how Mother Nature does it. Rather well methinks!

The above photo must illustrate the ultimate “green on green” border, gentle on the eye and so satisfying. Looking at green as a key colour in the garden now on the first day of winter makes you feel better. Just think of all the green we can look forward to!

Tags foliage, garden design, green, hostas

allotments gardening ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs

Taking Hardwood Cuttings

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 26, 2011

We have been busy taking hardwood cuttings of dogwoods and willows this week, the sorts we grow for their coloured stems for winter colour. We have several different varieties of both at home and in the Winter Garden on the lotties. We hope to plant up the allotment’s car park border with the successful cuttings. The photo below shows just how varied the colours are from yellow and pale green through every shade of orange and red and on to black and violet.

The whispier stems of the willows provided cuttings to strike in a bucket of water – oh so simple.

For the dogwoods and the thicker willow stems we made 9 inch long cuttings of the ubiquitous “pencil thick” stems. These we have dealt with in two ways so it will be interesting to see which turns out the most successful. The first batch we put in compost in a pot.

The second batch we rolled up in a cut strip of an old compost bag with compost on which was then rolled into a swiss roll.

Now we play the waiting game!

Tags dogwoods, hardwood cuttings, willows

arboreta autumn garden photography National Trust ornamental trees and shrubs trees wildlife

Woodland Walk – The new woodland walk at Attingham Park

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 25, 2011

We arrived at Attingham Park, the closest National Trust property to home, for a coffee and wander in the woods, to discover a sign announcing that a new woodland walk was now open. We had to try it out even though it was a miserable looking day. But once in the wood it didn’t matter what the weather was up to as the sky was hidden by the towering trees. The local bird life however didn’t appreciate the weather for they were virtually absent and almost silent, bar Wood Pigeons flying over the tree tops and small flocks of tits moving rapidly through the branches. The one ornithological treat was being surprised by a Treecreeper that swooped down onto the bottom of the tree trunk alongside us and scuttled its way upwards. It seemed totally unaware of our presence.

Lovely rustic seats gave frequent and welcome resting places. The seats were made from logs and slabs of wood felled from the park. The path was soft and relaxing to walk on being surfaced with pine needles or just deep woodland debris. Our footsteps were thus quiet and did not disturb the woodland peace.

A carpet of leaves underfoot and tall trunks on all sides called us onwards deeper into the Attingham Park woods. Logs and branches of all sizes were left in piles to attract and give shelter to insects, including the Lesser Stag Beetle which frequent the understory.

As the colours were so muted under the greyness of the cloud cover, the most striking feature of our walk was the textures found in live and dead wood. Mosses and lichens carpeted stumps and felled trunks with silvers and greens, and the spent dried leaves had settled onto rough textured bark.

This orange oak leaf rested on a fallen tree, its orange matching perfectly the spots of the Coral Spot fungus. Amazing juxtaposition!

Tags autumn colours, country walks, National Trust, woodland

allotments autumn community gardening gardening grow your own meadows

November Working Party

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 23, 2011

The final working party of the year at the lottie site at the weekend. The hardy members worked hard under dull November skies stopping frequently for coffee and laughter. We cleared our list of jobs to be done so went home exhausted, aching but satisfied.

The first job was to weed the Summer Garden, collect up the fallen leaves, give the roses a good dose of good old-fashioned cow muck and finish off by mulching the surface with woodchip to protect the bed from the winter cold and rain. One of the Charles Darwin rose bushes was still in flower so gave a glimpse of yellow and a burst of scent as we worked.

We then treated the three Buddleja Beds and the sensory garden to a weed and mulch. So now all the beds on the site have been weeded and have a protective duvet of woodchip on them.

We then split up with Geoff giving the small meadow a haircut and weed. We were amazed by how many seedling of wildflowers decorated its surface. this job would normally be done much earlier in the year but this meadow has only just finished flowering. The rest of us planted bulbs in one of our orchards including Camassia and crocus, and took hardwood cuttings of coloured stemmed dogwoods and willows.

Tags allotments, autumn, community gardening, meadows

garden photography gardening ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs

Gardening in autumn sunshine, listening to Bob Brown and buying an unknown plant.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 21, 2011

This must have been a near perfect day for any gardener – a morning spent in the garden under autumn sunshine, listening to a talk by Bob Brown in the afternoon and then buying one of his plants, a plant new to me.

Bob is a most entertaining speaker, full of information, humour and original thoughts and ideas. It was when we got our plant home I first noticed the wording on the bag that held our buddleja. At the top it said “I’ve found It! and below that “Bob Brown’s Nursery” and a nice clear map. If you have ever tries to find his Cotswold Cottage Flowers (www.cgf.net) you will understand the need for the map and the meaning of the comment.

Buddleja “Morning Mist” is a cross between Buddleja crispa and Buddleja loricata. Although these parents are not hardy the cross is reputed to be a good hardy little shrub. It grows into a neat metre high dome with silver foliage which is white on the underside, white soft furry stems and silver flowers with mustard centres. And it is scented with the aroma of honey! And it flowers most months of the year! A perfect plant?

Mustard yellow centres add a sparkle of colour to the beautifully scented flowers. Turn the silver leaves over and the undersides are pure white and covered in gentle white fur.

So, there it is, Buddleja “Morning Mist”. could it be the perfect garden plant. We look forward to finding out.

Tags buddleias, buddlejas, flowering shrubs

autumn garden photography gardening ornamental grasses

Autumn Yellows

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 21, 2011

Whilst gardening today we were both amazed by how dominant the colour yellow seemed under a dark November sky – the yellow of foliage, late blooms and drying stalks. I’ll leave the photos to show what I mean.

DSC_0035-1 — Roof Garden - lichen on Japanese stone lantern.

Tags autumn, autumn colours, garden photography, gardening, ornamental trees

allotments community gardening garden wildlife natural pest control

Wildlife Banks on the Lottie

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 19, 2011

On our allotment site at Bowbrook Allotment Community we try to keep all green waste on site, either by composting or re-using it in new situations. In earlier blogs I showed how we have made an array of insect shelters but the idea of creating wildlife banks to re-use turf is on a much larger scale.

When new beds are created in our Green Spaces around the lotties we have piles of turf left over. Some of this we stacked to make loam piles but we came up with the idea of making raised areas full of wildlife habitats and shelters. The photo above shows Jude, Geoff and Pete part way through the construction. Turves have already been layered alterating grass side up and grass side down, in our chosen shark’s fin shape, a design decided upon to reflect the shape of some of our mini-meadows. The first habitat is in place, the dry-stone wall.

The final layer of turf was laid grass side upwards and we planted insect-attracting plants in it, such as oxe-eye daisies and geranium phaeum. In the following autumn we planted small tulips and muscari and in spring we augmented this with bulbs “in the green”, snowdrops, wild daffodils, crocus and scillas. Some of these flowering bulbs provide a life line for early flying bees.

The buttercups soon burst out of the turf and added their yellow cheerfulness. The photo above shows another wildlife habitat – logs with holes of various sizes drilled in them – which we hope will attract solitary bees and provide shelter over winter for their eggs and larvae.

We have now constructed two such wildlife banks within our Green Spaces and keep adding odd plants as they are donated by members. Yesterday we planted some geraniums for example. The photo below shows one of the bumble bee nesting sites we have added. During the summer one of these was nested in by Field Mice and as bumble bees love nesting in old mouse holes we see this as a positive thing, giving us hope of bee residents moving in next year.

The final photo shows our second wildlife bank just after completion.

Tags allotments, community gardening, garden wildlife, wildlife shelters

autumn gardening ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs trees

Shrub Planting

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 12, 2011

Yesterday we planted new shrubs in the front garden. The weather was dismal with light drizzle and mist hanging all around. We were entertained by the calls of winter migrants passing overhead. It sounded as if large flocks of Redwings, Mistle Thrush and Fieldfares were passing overhead as we could hear regularly the mechanical “chick chuck” call of the Fieldfares and the higher pitched call of their smaller relative the Redwing. The cloud was so low though we only saw a few low-fliers, those with vertigo presumably.

The darkness lasted all day and daylight never seemed to happen. I took photos of the new acquisitions but the light was so poor the results were terrible, so today a bright sunny day I tried again. The low autumn rays of the sun made photography much more interesting.

The bed already has a trio of white-stemmed birches and a Sorbus vilmorinii and some established shrubs such as Sambucus “Black Lace”, Forest Pansy and a gleditzia. As these grow we hope the new shrubs will act as an understorey. We chose shrubs with interesting berries or coloured foliage or stems.

So for berries we selected Viburnum davidii and Hypericum “Magical Beauty” with their pearl-like berries in gloss black and peachy pink respectively.

Two shrubs we bought should produce berries but the specimens we found were devoid of them. The first of these, another Viburnum selected for its berries and the colour of its foliage in autumn was Viburnum nudum “Pink Beauty”. It displays creamy-white flowers in summer followed by pink fruit which matures to purplish-black which should contrast beautifully with its deep red autumn foliage display. The second was a shrub we have previously not grown, Itea virginica but we were tempted by the variety “Little Henry” with its deep purple autumn foliage. We can now look forward to the scent of its white drooping spires of white flowers in the summer.

The final two shubs are colour coordinated but we didn’t realise this until we put them together in the trolley. The red and orange flowers of Mahonia nitida “Cabaret” match perfectly the stems of Cornus sericea “Cardinal”.

Tags coloured stems, cornus, iteas, mahonias, trees and shrubs, vuburnums

autumn gardening grow your own half-hardy perennials

Bubble Wrap Duvet

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 7, 2011

Today we woke to the first frost of the year. My phone tells me its minus one. It’s only a thin weak frost but a useful reminder of how lucky we are to have gone this far into the year without one. Last year we had our first in September and that was not unusual. It also made us feel a little smug that we had got round to giving the greenhouse its duvet of bubble wrap at the weekend. It takes 100 metres of the large bubbled wrap to get the inside safely wrapped for winter – it is the only time I regret owning such a big greenhouse!

Bubble wrap is always so hard to fix up and always looks a mess but it does the job. We used a combination of black gaffer tape and the little plastic fiddly fixings specially designed for the job.

We moved under cover the peppers, chillies and sweet, growing in bags to hopefully get a few more fruits from them as well as the potatoes in their bags planned for cropping in December. We then had the time-consuming task of bringing in any half-hardy plants in pots such as aeoniums, begonias, echeverias, Euphorbia mellifera, salvias and summer flowering bulbs.

As a belt and braces procedure we take cuttings of some of the salvias, as well as bringing the parent plants in, as they often fail to survive through the winter even under the protection of the greenhouse.

This Salvia with its stunning red flowers which have an added cerise hue in sunlight only started flowering in late October so we could only appreciate its glorious flowers for a few weeks before bringing it into the greenhouse. If the first frost had come at the more usual time in late September or early October presumably it would have failed to flower this year. fingers crossed now that we can keep it through to warmer times.