Wildflower Intentions

Wild violets have established themselves all over the place

I've been concentrating on introducing a variety of plants into the garden, to attract flying insects as much as for visual effect, and I do think this has brought more life into the place. I do have more  bees, hover flies, and suchlike. But the more I read about the catastrophic loss of insects in general, the more I realise that native wild flowers are just as important, perhaps more important than gorgeous garden plants, providing specific foods for insect larvae so this year I've decided to dedicate my efforts to them. I did start last year, but in spite of what people may tell you, it takes time to establish and maintain a new colony of plants of any kind and you need to be patient. 

I want to create a perennial wildflower meadow in place of the lawn. The lawn has already been somewhat diminished as I've extended the beds into it so it will be a mini meadow - but so what?

My soil is soggy clay so I am going to make it a perennial meadow using moisture-loving plants. My list is long, but luckily some of the plants are already growing well in the lawn so I'm going to grow as many new plug plants as I can afford and build the thing up gradually. So far I have daisies, white clover, self heal, snakeshead fritillaries,  Anemone blanda, buttercups, dandelions and some hopeful looking wild geraniums from last year. I also have a few ragged robins, in the flower beds,  and I hope they will self seed. I have a small stand of comfrey and a bed of nettles that I use to make a plant food. 

                    

                    Fritillaries and Anemone blanda are already spreading into the lawn
This year I am going to add some devil's bit scabious and some greater birdsfoot trefoil and a friend has offered some of her wild plants. Luckily my two neighbours have gardens that invite insects so the three together should make up a good insect-friendly patch.

       

     

The first daisy and leaves showing there will be lots more

 

The red clover I planted last year

  In other parts of the garden I have various other wild plants, a stand of comfrey and a bed of nettles that I use to make plant food and things like wild garlic, Jack-in-the-Hedge and Sweet Cicely to put into salads. 

Last autumn I sowed a packet of Yellow Rattle in various grassy areas. I couldn't find them coming up so I looked up their leaves online and immediately recognised patches of them all over the grass - they weren't drowned by the winter wet. They weaken the grass, allowing other plants to have a chance of survival. There are already several ladybirds around and lots of bees and a butterfly or two so things look hopeful. 

Yellow rattle seedlings coming up in the lawn

 Meanwhile I don't think my mouse is a garden mouse after all because it hasn't taken the opportunity of open doors to escape and lives under the fridge. I try to keep the kitchen crumb-less and hygienic but found the mouse trying to scrape a meal off the splatters on the toaster and the hob, too hungry to bother about my presence. 

 Hungry mouse on hob

Mouse on toaster knob

          

                                           Happy Easter!