The perennial wildflower meadow

Actually it is not a proper meadow but more like a mini meadow as I don`t have the space for a full-sized meadow. But nevertheless the small meadow patch has quite a good diversity of flowers and attracts many different insects and other invertebrates such as spiders. I have even seen frogs and a wood mouse in the meadow.

There is also a second meadow patch near the compost area which is even smaller but which also looks quite pretty in summer.

The second mini meadow in mid-May

The same meadow at the end of May...

...and in June

Germander speedwell

Now in their 4th year the meadows have settled down, the diversity of plants is slowly increasing, weeds are non-existing now and maintenance effort is very low. I started both meadows on bare ground as I found it easier to develop the meadows from scratch and not having to fight against vigorous grasses taking over.
I mainly established the meadows by planting a mix of plug plants which I have grown myself from a variety of meadow seed packets from the garden centre. I have also scattered some seed in the gaps. Most meadow plants have established well such as knapweeds, bird`s-foot trefoil, germander speedwell, lady`s bedstraw, yarrow, clovers, ox-eye daisy, field scabious and grasses such as sweet vernal grass, crested dogstail, red fescue and quaking grass.

Ragged robin flowering in May

Bird`s-foot trefoil

Ox-eye daisy and yellow rattle

Ox-eye daisy and quaking grass

If you want to start your own meadow the grasses to avoid are yorkshire fog, cock`s-foot and perennial ryegrass as they are too vigorous and would soon take over. You cannot go much wrong with the flowers as long as you stick to proper meadow plants.

Yellow rattle germinating in early spring

Three years ago I sowed seed of yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor)  I collected myself which was a huge success as the grass was kept under control nicely to leave more space for the flowers to grow and establish.Yellowrattle seed has to be as fresh as possible as the seeds are not viable for long. Best to collect the seeds in late summer and to sow them in autumn as they need a period of cold weather to be able to germinate. They also like to have a few gaps in the meadow sward (which can be achieved by scarifying with a rake or similar) and don`t establish well in a thick sward of grass.
Once established the plants will self-sow as long as there are some open areas for the seeds to germinate.

Yellow rattle is also popular with bumblebees

Maintenance of the meadows mainly consists of cutting twice a year (and removing the cut plants to keep the nutrient intake as low as possible), once some time in August and a second time at the beginning of winter. If the winter is very mild I cut a third time at the end of winter as I want the meadows as short as possible before they start to grow again in spring. For late winter and spring interest I have planted the wild tulip Tulipa tarda which has pretty yellow and white flowers low to the ground and flowers in March. These are followed by white Camassia leichtlinii and Verbascum phoeniceum which flower in early May just before the first meadow flowers are opening. Between June and July the meadow is in full flower with ox-eye daisies, clover, bird`s-foot trefoil, buttercups, yellowrattle and many more meadow plants flowering followed in August by knapweeds, yarrow, devil`s-bit scabious and wild marjoram.

The meadow in April

The meadow in early May

June with ox-eye daisies, bird`s-foot trefoil and sorrel flowering

In July knapweeds and field scabious are flowering

Black knapweed and ox-eye daisy

The meadow never gets any fertiliser, ideally the fertility of the soil is slowly decreasing as I cut and remove the plants at least twice a year. Lower fertility will keep grasses in check and enhance the diversity of flowers as no plant is getting the chance to take over.

Verbascum phoeniceum flowering in May

Bird`s-foot trefoil and red clover

Camassia leichtlinii and Verbascum phoeniceum

Camassia leichtlinii

Red-tailed bumblebees like the bird`s-foot trefoil

Small tortoiseshell drinking nectar from field scabious

A hoverfly (Syritta pipiens) on an ox-eye daisy flower

Fox-and-cubs (Pilosella aurantiaca)

Leaf-cutter bee drinking nectar from fox-and-cubs

Long-horn beetles like the ox-eye daisy flowers

A crab spider waiting for prey

At the moment the meadow is in its winter sleep, cut as short as possible. In late winter the plants will start to grow again, the first flowers will open and the meadow cycle starts again.

My new wildlife pond

When I got my new allotment in April this year there was already a pond there. I actually got the allotment because the council wanted to give it to someone who likes wildlife and will appreciate the pond and not fill it in.
When I saw the pond the first time I knew I will have to remake it once I was on top of the rest of the allotment as the existing liner was leaking and the pond was not very nicely done with large proportions of the plastic liner showing and no proper shelves for planting. The pond was also full of tadpoles, so I had to wait until they had grown into little froglets and dispersed from the water into the surrounding allotment site.

The old pond in April 2018 after taking on the new allotment

Tadpoles in the old pond

The old pond in May, with the large Iris in the middle

In September the time had finally arrived, the new allotment was under control and I had some time off work to remake the pond. I had bought some quite expensive liner (Firestone) with life-time guarantee and a thick underlay. I had also accumulated a huge pile of stones which I collected myself from various places all over the South of England. The pond plants I ordered had arrived as well. I went for mainly native non-invasive plants such as marsh marigold, mares tail, flowering rush, water forget-me-not and water mint with a few non-invasive non-native water plants such as dwarf bulrush and small water irises.

I first removed the old pond including the liner and underlay which was actually just cheap black plastic with a tarpaulin underneath, no wonder it was leaking. I consigned the huge variegated Iris from the old pond to the compost heap as it looked like on a mission to take over the world, or failing this at least to take over the new pond. I then dug the new outline of the pond (roughly 2m by 3m) which was considerably larger than the old pond outline.

The outline of the new pond dug out

In went the underlay followed by the pond liner which was quite soft and pliable and easy to mold to the shape of the new pond. In the bottom went a bucket full of gravel. I then started filling the pond with part rainwater and part water from the water trough on the allotment. I had to use watering cans as no hose is allowed on the allotment site. I only filled the pond up half way so I could start putting the plants in. I also started to stack the stones around the edge. The stones did not go straight on the pond liner but on a second layer of underlay but this time on top of the liner to protect the liner from the sharp edges, especially of the larger stones. I also used several bags of gravel to give the plants some substrate to root in and to cover the liner.

The liner goes in

The water lily is in and some gravel

More plants are in position and gravel filled in

Stones are stacked around the edge and more water filled in

I slowly worked my way up to the edge, stones, plants, gravel, more water until all plants were in, the edge was concealed under stones and the water was filled in nearly to the top. I let everything settle for a few hours and then cut off the liner to leave about 20 cm edge which I could cover with soil and more stones so nothing was visible.

Nearly finished, just the liner needs to be cut around the edge

Finished!

In a matter of hours after finishing the pond the first dragonflies appeared to inspect the new habitat. A few days later two different species of dragonfly (Common darter and Southern hawker) were laying eggs. I was very excited! There were also water boatmen and pond skaters appearing as well as water beetles and pond snails.

Common darter dragonflies arrive

Southern Migrant female laying eggs at thee edge of the pond

A week after finishing the pond the water turned green for a few days but cleared up soon. Since then the water is crystal clear and if you look closely the pond is brimming with all sorts of tiny water animals such as water fleas, Cyclops and many more. I sometimes just sit at the edge of the pond and stare into the water to watch all the little things going about their business.

Algae are turning the water green

Larger wildlife have discovered the pond as well. Birds are coming during the day to have a drink and foxes and a hedgehog are visiting the pond in the night. I have also spotted a few frogs and a newt but their time will come in spring as the old pond was always full of frogs in early spring and I expect the new pond will be to their liking as well.

A greenfinch has come for a bath and a drink

A fox drinking from the pond (above) and two foxes visiting (below)

A hedgehog is having a look as well

Having a larger pond was always on my wish list of things to have as I always found ponds fascinating. As a child I could spend hours pond dipping, bringing home all sorts of creatures which had to be accommodated in my various glass tanks spread all over the house (my poor mom!). I normally kept these water creatures for a week or so to watch them and then let them free only to fill the glass tanks with new things. I even had a microscope to look at the tiny water animals and algae I found in the pond in my moms garden.

The pond in October

I am now looking forward to what next year will bring, how everything develops and what wildlife the pond will attract. Watch this blog for more updates.

The pond in September

Update: Have a look here to see how the pond has developed in it`s first full year.

Some like it hot (but not all): Winners and losers of the drought 2018

After 2 months with hardly any rain and heatwave after heatwave it has become apparent which plants can cope with the stress and which plants are suffering on my allotment.
I have not planted any proper moisture lovers such as Astilbe as my allotment is generally on the dry site. But this year is so exceptionally dry that even plants which have been fine so far with my drier soil are suffering.

Some plants are only still looking ok because I water them every few days, others have not even tried to flower or have gone to seed very quickly. The worst affected plants have gone back underground already and I hope at least the root system survives. Some of the vegetables have bolted very quickly or have not produced anything usable (radishes or calabrese for example).

Echinacea purpurea, a pretty plant but suffers in a drought

But luckily there are also lots of plants which don`t seem to mind too much if the weather is dry and hot for a long time. I only water these plants occasionally and they look completely fine, even happy one might want to say.

Centaurea, Echinops and Verbena cope well with heat and dry soil

Below is a list of winners and losers on my allotment, including vegetables and fruit.

Winners (ornamental plants)

Achillea, Eryngium & ornamental grasses do well in drought

Achillea: All my Achilleas look completely happy and flower well, with hardly any watering

Alliums: I have Allium sphaerocephalon and A. cernuum flowering at the moment and they like the hot and dry weather

Aster (most of them): Some are a bit shorter this year which is actually good as a few toppled over last year but most are looking fine

Catananche and Dianthus

Catananche caerulea: some of the plants look even better than last year, I think they thrive in dry and sunny weather, it also helps to keep them more compact

Centaurea: All of my Centaureas (C. dealbata, nigra, scabiosa and macrocephala) look good and don`t need much watering

Cosmos: An annual, looks good and flowers well with hardly any watering

Dianthus: All pinks on my allotment are doing well, including Dianthus carthusianorum, Dianthus knappii and D. deltoides

Echium: I have Echium vulgare, E. pinninana and E. russicum and all are doing very well

Echinops: Looks very good at the moment and bees love it

Eryngium planum

Eryngium: Another plant which likes it sunny and dry, the deep tap-roots help to find moisture

Euphorbia: All my Euphorbias are doing well, not a sign of drought stress

Fennel: Have not watered the fennel all summer so far as they are self-sown plants and all still looking good

Inula: I have several Inula including Inula magnificum and I. orientalis. Despite the large leaves they don`t seem to need much water, have not seen them flagging at all so far and they have flowered well

Kniphofia is doing well

Kniphofia: All my Kniphofias are doing well and flower their socks off and I have quite a lot!

Monarda fistulosa: Wild bergamot, Monarda fistulosa, seems to cope much better with dry soils than the more common M. didyma, my plants still have fresh green leaves and flower very well. So if you have dry soil I recommend to plant wild bergamot.

Ornamental grasses: Most of my grasses are coping really well with hardly any additional watering. The only grass which is suffering is Deschampsia caespitosa which normally grows on moist to wet grasslands. Even Molinia looks fine.

Cosmos, Ricinus and Tithonia

Ricinus communis: The Castor-oil plant looks happy and grows well despite having large leaves but it is only grown as an annual here in the UK.

Tithonia rotundifolia: An annual plant, grows and flowers well in the heat

Verbascum: All my Verbascums grow well and flower with hardly any additional watering

Verbena bonariensis: Grows and flowers well this year on my allotment. Its relative Verbena hastata, which self-seeds a lot on my allotment, does well in most areas as well despite normally needing moister soils

Other plants doing well are Lavender, Thyme, Nepeta, Gaura, Malva and Calamintha

Monarda fistulosa still looks fresh and green

Winners (vegetables & fruit) 

All vegetables need regular watering (I don`t normally water fruit) but these do especially well this year: Tomatoes, sweetcorn, pumpkins & squash, courgette, swiss chard, endive, chicory, most fruit

I have so many apples this year!

Losers (ornamental plants)


All these plants need lots and lots of additional watering and even with this some have disappeared underground, hopefully still surviving.

Many Geraniums are not doing well at the moment

Anemone hupehenis/japonica, Cirsium rivulare/tuberosum, Crocosmia, Dahlia, Digitalis purpurea/lanata/lutea, Echinacea purpurea (its relative Echinacea pallida is coping much better, growing in drier habitats in North America), Geranium (most but G. psilostemon seems to be fine), Dahlia, Geum (some), Helenium autumnale (some plants have completely disappeared), Leucanthemum superbum, Phlomis tuberosum (has not done well at all, not even flowered so far), Physostegia virginiata, Persicaria amplexicaulis, Sanguisorba, Rudbeckia (all Rudbeckias need lots of watering to keep them from flagging and getting brown leaves), Solidago rugosa, Zinnia

Some Digitalis look sad now even with watering (the picture is from last year)

Sanguisorba menziesii looked pretty in May, now only brown leaves left

Rudbeckia nitida needs lots and lots of water to keep it looking good

Losers (vegetables & fruit)

Even with regular watering these did not well this year: Cabbages, radishes, carrots, celeriac, lettuce and most other leafy greens, peas and beans, also raspberries (but I did not water them as there was not enough time)
Potatoes did mostly well but some of the earlies had a much reduced yield. The second earlies and maincrop seem to have done better.

Drought-resistant planting with Achillea and grasses

As I think we might get this dry and hot weather more often now I will focus more on planting drought-resistant plants. Less resistant plants will get a good layer of mulch in spring to help keep the soil moist for longer but in the long-term it is better to plant more of the resistant plants as it saves on watering as well.