Two visitors to the wildlife garden

We have had two visitors this week to the part of our garden that we have set aside to try to encourage wildlife of all sorts. 

The first was our charming and enthusiastic weekend houseguest, Charlie Bee, pictured left,  posing on the edge of the patch.  He seems to like sniffing about in the undergrowth and generally making himself at home.  Perhaps that is because where he lives in Thorpe Morieux he has a much larger area which is also specially kept to encourage biodiversity.

The second was local ecologist, George Millins, who came to see how the special plants that he had given us in the spring, chosen to attract and support butterflies, had survived.  At the moment the area is rather overwhelmed with rye grass, and also with giant thistles and ragwort.  However some of the field scabious, birds foot trefoil and other introduced species have survived and there are certainly signs of butterflies enjoying the area.  The ragwort has provided essential sustenance for the caterpillars of the cinnabar moth.  Some of the plants have been completely eaten bare by the distinctive yellow and black creatures.

George thinks it will take about five years to establish the area with the right balance of plants to create ideal conditions.  We will be mowing the area in October, and picking all cuttings up, to try to reduce the fertility of the soil and encourage the right wild flowers to grow.