Sunday Scenes

Just a few flowers seen in my wild patch. Apart from the first picture, nothing planted, all self-seeded. I inspect the patch daily and never know what new beauty I will find.

And finally, a much longed-for poppy

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The Nuthatch

 Nuthatch

(picture courtesy of Royal Society for the Protection of Birds)

It is over twenty years since I saw a Nuthatch in my garden, and that was in the other house. Because the pigeons made such a mess on the patio we moved the bird feeders further down the garden but located where we could still see the birds coming to feed. Occasionally we see a rare bird but that doesn’t happen often.

Recently I saw a bird tucked right inside the caged feeder but couldn’t identify it. I saw the breast colour once, which told me it was neither a chaffinch nor a robin. I couldn’t make out the rest of the plumage because he kept his body behind the feeder tube, but his shape was familiar and the name ‘Nuthatch’ kept springing to mind.

After a few days the bird got braver and showed himself in full.  It was indeed a Nuthatch and I almost screamed with delight. I do hope he sticks around.

Obviously the wild patch is coming into its own. Since the area was left to ‘go wild’ we have seen an increase in the variety of birds but not enough. Having the feeders down there, one of them almost hidden by branches of the apple tree, seems to be an added attraction. It’s costing us a bit more in birdseed but what the heck ... with the rapid decline in birdlife they need all the help they can get.  

I don’t expect to see the Treecreeper but one never knows!

and finally

The lovely Jay has cottoned on to the squirrel's hoarding pattern. Whenever shelled peanuts are put out (for the birds) the squirrel buries a lot of them in the lawn. I guess he saves them for those days when I don't include peanuts in the daily diet. The other day I watched the Jay hunting round the lawn to find the peanuts ... and succeeding. I have to smile at our wildlife inhabitants.

The Wild Patch

Last year (or was it the year before) I wrote about turning the bottom section of my garden into a wild patch, or perhaps I should call it a wildlife garden considering foxes and squirrels have joined the birds and the bees. Yesterday the sun came out so what better place to visit than the patch. I took some pictures to show how it's going. The bees like it, the fox likes it, and the birds like it, and thanks to the birds I am also growing a few odd ears of wheat. It's all very interesting.

It all started when a wooden trellis collapsed. This meant that the rambling roses could no longer ramble and the place looked a proper mess. It was cleared out and the idea of a wild patch took shape. Well, wild it is. It still looks a mess but there's an objective there. Nothing has been planted yet things grow. I am constantly looking out for new growth and trying to identify what it is. My particular favourites are the foxgloves and the yellow poppies.

At the back of the patch the thistles grow and when the sun shines I love to watch the bees at work. I wonder why they never get stung!

The last two pictures are not in the wild patch, but the flowers weren't planted either. The blue harebell has obviously seeded itself from birdseed. I'm not sure about the other.

Flowers and Tennis

Yesterday I thought I'd spend some time watching Wimbledon on television ... Sharapova v Peng which I thought was a nice lead up to the next Murrey match ... but it was too noisy. A couple of years ago players at Wimbledon were banned from grunting and squealing when they strike a ball. Now it seems the rule has been relaxed. I felt like complaining to the Wimbledon authorities that Sharapova's grunts were so irritating I couldn't watch any longer.

Outside the weather was amazing, sunshine, a cloudless blue sky and exceptionally high temperatures. It made more sense to enjoy it and not bother with the tennis. Accordingly, I went out to inspect my rough patch.

The first thing I spotted was this single antirrhinum, obviously sewn from bird seed because we've never, ever had snapdragons in the garden before.

And this, a new arrival which I can't find in my book of wildflowers.

Then there's this, seen among the now seeding foxgloves. The tall yellow flower is also missing from the wildflower book. If anyone can identify it I'd be really grateful. I've cut back the foxgloves so that they'll have a second flowering later in the year. This project gives me a lot of pleasure, I love seeing the extra flowers appearing from nowhere.

But the best of today's finds was my first rose of summer, though I hasten to add that it was not found in the wild patch. I know I should have left it on the bush but I did so want to a bit of colour on my kitchen windowsill.

Foxgloves and the wild patch

Foxgloves, Don’t you just love them? Seeing honey bees enter the gloves to get at the pollen is that bit of nature that appeals to me since honey bees are rapidly disappearing. We didn’t intend to do our bit to help save bees from extinction, dedicating part of the garden to the welfare of our wonderful wild life just evolved. Without realising we had already provided an environment that bees and birds and unseen insects could enjoy. And we ain’t finished yet! This is the first season of new ideas, hopefully the rough patch will thrive for a few more years.

The ground beneath the enormous Beech tree was always a sort of wilderness. At one time there was a mossy bank where you could sit under the shade of the plum tree and read in peace and quiet, that is until the midges moved in. Several bites made me reluctant to read outside and the garden maintenance in that area came to a halt, hence the idea of actually turning that section into a wildlife garden.

The area is out of sight from the house and you have to go three-parts of the way down before you come upon it. It’s not the place for visitors anyway, they’d just think leaving grass uncut was lazy. So it is … but for a good cause. Long grass is essential for wildflower seeds to germinate in peace and for insects to crawl through, unseen and unhampered except by birds. It’s a veritable treasure chest for those that eat insects. Our wild bit of garden is a place to stand beside, to watch and wonder at nature’s natural beauty.

The rest of the garden will be maintained as normal but my interest will be ‘that rough patch at the bottom’.