This is an article in praise of a plant that is great for wildlife, but sometime gets a bad press in other respects: Ivy. In this article, we’ll be talking about the variety of Ivy named ‘Hedera helix ssp. Helix’; this is the variety that climbs; not the other variety which spreads along the ground. The nectar, […]
Should we feed our garden birds all year round? It’s a question that is often asked. The best answers suggest that, though some times of the year might be more important than others, we shouldn’t be too concerned about when to feed the birds. Rather, we should be paying more attention to what, how and where we […]
If you are interested in gardens and gardening, and want to make your garden more wildlife-friendly, please come along to this event on 15th October. POSTSCRIPT Thank you to all who attended this event. Cathy gave a very interesting talk, and there was plenty of opportunity for discussion before and after the event.
Where butterflies are widely loved and welcomed, moths seem to share our affections much less. This makes little sense scientifically, because they both belong to the same order of insects – Lepidoptera. Perhaps they are not loved so much because they are (largely) denizens of the night; or perhaps because we fear they are going to […]
In a recent Facebook post, Julie Crabb spoke about a Great Spotted Woodpecker that had come to a feeder near her window: “A wonderfully entertaining visitor at my working from home office window this morning.” In another post, Thomas Anderson said about deer running past his kitchen window: “Felt very privileged to see these two […]
What’s the big deal about finding or seeing something that is rare? What does it tell us about the local natural environment when a rare species turns up? The answer is that sometimes the presence of a rarity signals something significant about the local environment, but in other cases it has no significance in this […]
Something is stirring in villages, towns and city districts in Britain. Residents are coming together and starting projects to protect and enhance wildlife in their local communities. Sometimes, like Bredfield, they go by the name of a ‘wildlife-friendly village’; sometimes by another name. Whatever the name, these communities are intent on making gardens, churchyards, verges, […]
“Gosh, that looks just like …. “: a bee, a leaf, a flower, a stick, or something else. “But, it’s not!” Sometimes, nature can deceive you into thinking you are seeing something else, or not seeing anything at all. A moth, sat on a branch, may blend in so well with the branch, that you […]
On 12th June, we held a Wildflower Walk at Bredfield Jubilee Meadow and Orchard. After a prolonged period of restrictions, it was great to able to organize and participate in a community event. A dozen people – young and older, faces new and familiar – joined the walk which was expertly led by Laurie Forsyth. […]
Borage and Bees It is sometimes known as Starflower because of the distinctive shape of its flower. However, the other name for Borage reveals why it is considered to be such a wildlife-friendly plant: Bee’s Bread. All sorts of bees will visit this plant. No bee-friendly garden should be without at least one Borage plant. There are three […]
