Natural Buzz. Winter flowering area and ground prep

9th October 2016

Today was spent going over yesterday's scythed area with a mower to cut it even shorter. This was just so we can see the holes more clearly for when we plant the cowslip (April-May flowering), primrose (March-May flowering) and snake's head fritillary (March-May flowering) plugs as part of the Natural Buzz project. As mentioned previously, this patch is rich with knapweed which flowers from late June-August, so we'll hopefully greatly improve the seasonal availability of nectar available to pollinators here.

Adjacent to the above patch, a winter flowering area was planted by the container with more RHS perfect for pollinator plants. These included two Helleborus nigra varieties and a Viburnum tinus  variety. Two of the raised areas to protect the fruit trees were then planted with 2 RHS Perfect for pollinator lavenders and these will be used to make cuttings.

For more information on RHS "perfect for pollinator" plants for your garden please visit here: https://www.rhs.org.uk/…/conservation-and-biodiversity/wild…

Both areas and the soft fruit plants from Friday were given a good watering from water collected from waterbutts.

Mowing ready for cowslip, primrose and snake's head fritillary

RHS Perfect for Pollinators lavender

RHS Perfect For Pollinator winter flowering area (and a honeysuckle)