My vision for our small garden is that it will not only provide food and medicine for us but also be a haven for wildlife and other creatures.
The bees have been very happy here this year and I have seen many fat bumblebees and hoverflies hanging off the hyssop and monardas.
Lavender is nearly over now but every last flower is being made use of. The Apothecaries Rose was also a favourite when it was in flower.
There’s been a whole host of caterpillars, mostly fat and green, and some interesting spiders too. So it was with all these little residents in mind that I decided to add an insect hotel to the quietest area of the garden.
Ok, compared to some grand affairs this is more of an insect caravan but its a start and will hopefully provide a bit of shelter for a few needy wayfarers. If you have space you can make a very large, 5 star affair by stacking pallets full of different materials on top of each other but, if like me, you garden is more ‘bijou’ then you can make more of a boutique bug residence with a wooden box or old drawer filled with pine cones, straw, moss, hollow bamboo canes for solitary bees, bits of wood with holes drilled into them and other such items. Tuck it away into a quiet corner and you’ll be encouraging bio-diversity even in a tiny garden.
There has also been a number of butterflies like this beautiful Comma resting on the echinacea and this poor raggedy old Red Admiral on the nettles. Up on the Downs behind our house I also saw this lovely Chalkhill Blue.
The keen observer will spot other wild beasts lurking amongst the flowers.
We have also been joined recently by four new additions in the form of some highly spirited rescued ex-battery farm chickens. They live in the back garden, well away from my prized salad crops, and have settled into life outside a cage very quickly. We got them through The British Hen Welfare Trust which is a great charity and well worth supporting. They were in a sorry state when they came to us, straight from the battery farm that morning, but already their feathers are growing and they are gaining confidence by the day. For anyone who has hens or is interested in keeping them I would recommend reading this great article by Kym Murden on The Herbarium which gives lots of tips for herbs to grow around your chooks and other natural health tips. Ours are currently enjoying garlic and nettle tincture in their water, nettle seeds in their feed, lavender in their bedroom and rose petals in their nest box. They are as friendly as can be and make it their mission to sneak into the house whenever the opportunity arises.
Here is Primrose stretching out her wing for the very first time.
Violet and Clover discover they have a taste for my once lush Mizuna.
They have earned their keep by helping with the weeding. Not a scrap of ground elder remains now.
Honeysuckle and Clover check to see whether they’ve been busted sneaking in.
Finally, whilst on the subject of birds, bugs and beasts, I would like to urge you all to take a few moments to sign one (or all) of the petitions against the proposed badger cull that the government hopes to enforce next year. As badgers are known TB carriers, the government is hoping that their mass slaughter will halt its spread amongst cattle. Most of the available scientific evidence shows that this is not the case and implies that the cull may in fact make matters worse as it did in Ireland. The problem is due to poor farming practices not badgers and the only pro- badger cull arguments I have read are financially motivated as farmers do not want to lose money from their herds. Healthy animals are much less likely to be infected so all resources should be put into better farming practices not into killing one of our most treasured wild species. The plan is for 70% of badgers to be slaughtered. It breaks my heart that this is even a possibility.
You can read more about the issue in this Q and A document from The Badger Trust.
And if you feel strongly about the issue too there are petitions available to sign on the following sites:
38 degrees here.
The League Against Cruel Sports here.
Save Me here.
And you can reply to the consultation by following the guidelines here:
http://www.brianmay.com/save-me/badgers/DEFRA_E-mailer.html
(N.B. The final image of the badgers is from google images, source unknown, all other photos are my own.)
Lucinda, How absolutely dear that you have rescued hens! They look so happy! Oh, such satisfaction of the soul when you can show an animal a happier life and get to witness them thrive! Lovely garden photos as always (I swear I write this same line in every post…but it’s true!) broke my heart to read about the badgers so I am passing the word along, and will do whatever I can from my US status. 😦 So many times people take the easy way when what is really needed is a good long overhaul of the way cattle, and other livestock are treated. Thanks for letting us know.
xxoo,
Carey
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Thanks Carey,
I so agree, it’s such a joy to be able to make a difference in another beings’ life, I only wish it wasn’t necessary, battery farming is so despicable.
I’m very much hoping that it’s not too late to change the decision regarding the badgers. People always favour the short term approach, making more money and not considering the consequences yet we see time and time again that it doesn’t work. Thanks for passing the word on.
Take care, love,
Lucinda xx
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Congratulations on your new additions! I just love the names and they look like they’re thriving already on your TLC (I bet they are some of the best treated chickens in all of the UK!). I especially love the photo of Honeysuckle and Clover looking mischievous! So nice to see all the bees looking busy and happy on your beautiful flowers too, and just LOVE the insect hotel 🙂 How sweet! The wildlife around you is in great luck I am sure…
I most certainly will sign the petition, too. When will the government learn that such solutions never work?
Much love to you,
D
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Thank you Danielle! Mischievous they certainly are and they’ve quickly discovered what a soft touch I am and are exploiting it to the full. 🙂
Thanks for signing the petition. I’m so passionate about this issue and wish i could do more.
Big hugs to you and the cats xxx
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Dear Lucinda,
Your insect hotel is very beautiful. It does not matter how large or small, it will benefit wildlife, it also looks lovely.
My friend rescued battery hens. They looked so sad when they arrived. Now they are healthy happy hens and look stunning. I am sure with your love and attention, magical herbs, they will have a wonderful life.
I have cried many tears over wildlife………..I am so concerned about the badger cull. I shall, like you, be signing petitions and campaigning.
Hopefully we will be heard (I have a feeling we will)…….
Your gardens are a joy Lucinda. It does not matter how large or small a garden is, we can all make a difference……..you show that, in your lovely post.
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Thanks Cheryl,
Even though I dream of a big garden, this one is really a perfect size for me to manage at the moment. Only a year ago all my plants were cramped up in pots in the city so I’m so grateful to have some more space now.
I’m so glad you have a good feeling about the badgers, that brings me more hope too.
The hens are growing such beautiful soft new feathers, I too feel they will be beautiful given a bit of love and handfuls of yummy greens.
Thanks for your lovely comment, xxx
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Your photos are so beautiful Lucinda:) Love your insect hotel! lol! That would be a nice project to do with the grandchildren, thanks for the idea:)Lovely that the rescue chickens have taken care of the ground elder problem! Have you told your dad:) hehehe that is an organic method of controlling it! Our baby ducks are devastating the garden, and we are going to have to corral them till next weekend, when we will be selling some of them to others who have room for them. We will keep Max and Ruby and maybe 2 of the babes:) The poor badgers are being blamed there, and here, they blame the buffalo( out west) for infecting the cattle. Same misinformation here that buffalo cause TB in the cattle, and as you say, it is their own poor farming practices causing the trouble. Will sign your petitions. Have been signing petitions, it seems yearly for 6 years, over at the Care2 network. Sigh… it just breaks my heart how farmers throw their weight around and cause all this trouble!! love and hugs to you dear one xoxoxox
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Hi Leslie, yes it’s a great project to do with kids, I’m sure they would love it!
Ha ha no I haven’t told my Dad yet, I will do though. 🙂 The only problem is that whilst chickens do rid your garden of ground elder, they rid it of everything else too!! A plague of locusts might be an apt description.
I didn’t know buffalo were being blamed for TB over there, how very sad, when will people wake up. I have met some truly inspirational conservation minded farmers but for the most part they just seem to rape the land and fill her with chemicals and behave in such a short sighted fashion, then call themselves the custodians of the countryside. I don’t understand it at all, ’tis madness.
Much love to you, your family and the beautiful kittens, can’t wait for the next update. xxx
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Just found your blog via Twitter, it’s fab. I’ll be back!
The insect hotel is a great idea, I will definitely copy that. It is said that imitation is the greatest form of flattery!
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