No, I’m not suggesting we shuck off our threads and get back to the way nature intended us to be. My hippy days are long gone and I wouldn’t want to scare the horses.
I really do mean getting back to nature and helping out the wildlife at the same time.
Marion has always been the real gardener in our house, although I have dabbled at times and am still working on some bonsai creations – long-term plans.
Last year, however, she handed over the front garden to me – although there was a pond already there the areas either side of the front path had been covered in plastic (everything from compost bags split open to extra strong bin bags) with what must have been tons of gravel laid on top.
It is still a work in progress, well the pond side is, I’ve only just stripped the gravel and plastic from the other side to reveal hard impacted earth with roots from the hedges, the acer and even the municipal trees on the roadside, creating a crazy patchwork.
The pond side is getting there but I am still waiting for the wildflower seeds to bloom and grow combining with other cottagey type plants – buddleia, a rose, flowering currant and some others – to provide a kaleidoscope of colour.
At the same time as choosing plants that will hopefully attract birds, bees and butterflies, we already have wildlife in the pond, at least three newts along with tadpoles, in various stages of growth and the larval stage (almost fully developed) of dragonflies.
We also knew we had at least one hedgehog making regular visits and possibly a fox as well.
As it happens we have now started using a trail camera in the garden at night and know we have at least TWO hedgehogs, possibly more but they rarely appear more than one at a time and we have had two in view together, one of them being a bit of a bully.
We also have TWO foxes.
We know there are at least two because there are differences in physical appearance and also behaviour.
I will be telling you more about them all in good time and think you may enjoy hearing of the escapades of Ferdinand and Francesca Fox and Horace the hedgehog (he’s the bully) with his timid friend Henrietta.
Robin's Nest 