Garden Wild Flower Success & Recycling a BOG Garden!!....

Hello All,

As always time has gone by without an update on here for quite a while! With spare time in the garden so precious I have overlooked my blog once again! As you can probably imagine I have lots to update you with and despite the very wet weather I have managed to crack on with quite a few tasks. Before I start telling you about what these tasks are I would just like to thank all of you who regularly log in to see what I've been up to and of course the kind comments that I receive, they really are appreciated! I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce you to a new blog by a regular reader of this spot who is starting out with a garden project themselves! So hello to CottageGardener and for anyone who wants to take a peek here's a link to the their new blog:- http://cottagegardening.blogspot.co.uk/

So here we go again! As promised an update on my wild flower area, which I started giving a complete overhaul last Autumn by stripping off the old turf and sowing with perennial wild flower seeds. As the perennial wild flowers will take a year or two to establish I also grew annual wild flower plugs that I planted into the area in Spring to give a good show this year. For anyone thinking about creating a wild flower area I would suggest that starting from scratch as I have now done is the best way to get started. Simply strip off the turf and dig over the area breaking up the lumps of soil to create a fine even tilth. You don't need to add compost or other goodness to your plot as most wild flowers will grow in normal garden soil.

So this is how the wild flower area looked in APRIL, a bit bare!!...

Below is the wild flower area in MAY, not looking too colourful but a good few plants starting to come through. I've now also added a bank at the rear to give a different level for varied planting and to add to the feature....

The beginning of JUNE sees a bit more growth and colour with some poppies making an appearance...

Another view in mid JUNE with addition of a new bench to enjoy this area from!....

Here we are in JULY, the annuals have certainly been a great success with good shows from, Field Poppies, Corn Marigolds, Corn Cockles and a sprinkling of Cosmos just to give a little 'glitz' for this summer!....

And of course the view back to our bench which is a great place to sit and enjoy a good old cup of tea whilst admiring my hard work!!... or maybe planning my next project!!

I hope that you all agree that the decision to completely 'revamp' this area and start from scratch has been well worth it so far? The annual flowers have been superb considering the wet weather and very heavy boggy ground that we have had all year here! I'm pleased to report that the perennials are also looking ok and we have had a good display of Ragged Robin whilst seeing other plants such as Achilea, Wild Carrot and Ox-eye Daisy starting to establish. It will be interesting to keep an eye on what does well and what doesn't for future additions and sowings in this area, as usual I will keep you updated with my findings! So there you have it!....

Well of course that's not the end, we haven't yet decided if this planting has been successful in it's most important role.... attracting butterflies, bees and insects into the garden???

I have to say that I'm amazed at just how many new species of insects I have had in the garden this year despite the we weather! I have heard from so many how bad it has been for insects but I've been overwhelmed to see so many. So as not to bore you any further I'll let you decide by showing you a few very small visitors to my wild flower area.....

7 Spot Ladybird on a Corn Marigold which proves again to be the best annual Wild flower to attract insects in my experience!

Adelphocoris Lineoltus, again on a Corn Marigold and a new listing in the garden...

Grass Hopper Nymph amongst the rough grass, too young to identify unfortunately...

Strangalia Maculata on an Ox-eye Daisy, another new listing in the garden...

We've seen lots of Drone Flies on the wild flowers which is great as they are really good pollinators. This one is a Helophilus Fasciatus enjoying an ox-eye Daisy.... 

Like them or loath them Spiders are useful at keeping some pests at bay in the garden, this spider is small but will tackle prey bigger than itself!...

On a slightly prettier note, butterflies have shown reasonably well with the Meadow Brown like this one below particularly abundant this summer. This one is on an Astrantia which isn't a wild flower but is a great addition to your perennial borders for attracting masses of pollinating insects! 

I think that brings the wild flower area to a close for now and I have concluded that it has been extremely successful!?.... I can't wait until next year when it should be even better!!!!!...

As promised in my last post and to start catching myself up a little I have in true Higgy fashion recycled some items to create a couple of small features in corners of the garden which weren't in use and needed a little work. These small 'redundant' areas are often difficult to fill so I've just gone for it with some old bathroom waste and a little Higgy humour!!!.....

This old Belfast sink was left by the previous owner and had just sat in the hedgerow full of mud! I have recycled it and added it as a small water feature in a dead area behind the arch and the tropical border. This is sited near to the bird feeders and acts as a great bath for visiting birds!....

Behind my workshop I have a dead area which I have just been using to pile up materials and bags of compost etc. It is great to have an area to dump stuff in but when it can be viewed in the garden it becomes an eyesore! So what do you do about a small redundant area like this???....

Easy...

Recycle and create a 'BOG' Garden!!!...

I don't think that there is too much more to say about the bog garden I'll just leave you to take that in for a moment!!!.... :-)

Before I finally leave you (and I will soon I promise!!) a few snaps of my current feathered visitors who all seem to be turning out in family groups, so I presume that they are all enjoying Higgy's Garden and all that it has to offer them!!?...

Part of my family of Jays who are now daily visitors...

One who thinks he's a woodpecker!!...

A great big Jackdaw who thinks he's also a woodpecker!!...

The Greenfinches have been back after an absence...

Ah ha, at last.... A Great Spotted Woodpecker! I knew there would be one along at some point!!...

And that really is that now folks! Thanks again for taking the time to read my blog, I do hope that you are still enjoying it? Please do let me know of any successes that you have had in your own garden as I'd be really interested to know?

Best

Higgy :-)