of one's ignorance"
Confucius
The fine weather over the weekend meant that a lot of outstanding jobs in the garden could be executed. One of the jobs was the rebuilding of the raised bed in the church funded area of the garden. The old wooden retaining posts had come to the end of their days and need replacing urgently before the bed collapsed. This area is the only place in the garden where we record the Lesser Stag Beetle.
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| The old rotten posts are removed for recycling |
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| Half way through the renovation |
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| The finished raised bed with new posts |
The bee and butterfly beds also received a lot of attention. Tidying up, weeding and replanting all took place over the weekend
Over the weekend several species of bee were recorded- buff-tailed, white-tailed and red-tailed bumble bees, andrena clarkella and the handsome Tawny Mining -bee Andrena fulva. A couple of early wasps were also noted and Peacock and Small Tortoishell butterflies.
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| Andrena clarkella |
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| Red-tailed Bumble bee |
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| White-tailed Bumble bee |
Work started on the willow classroom which has an annual haircut at this time of year to help regain the original shape. Many of the smaller whips were bundled and put in a bucket to root as infill when the repair work starts in earnest next month. Larger lengths of willow will be sourced from nearby Abbotsbury Swannery.
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| Th willow cuttings |
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| Cutting back to shape |
At least three pairs of Robins have territories which abut in the garden. One pair is nesting behind the sheds just over the wall. They are all very confiding and are always keen to spot garden volunteers as they know that there will be a good chance of an easy meal
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| One of our friendly Robins |
With Spring now well underway the Blue Tits and Great Tits are sorting out who moves into which nest box. The Blue tits have staked their original claim. They have nested in here for four years now. The Great tits have settled for the box by the sheds.
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| The female Blue tit checking things out! |
In the tropical bed the Melianthus is flowering. This magnificent lush plant enjoys the sunny position here and is covered with pendulous purple flowers
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| Melianthus major |
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| The banana plants are making strong growth after the winter months |
Many of the early spring flowers are now going over. This year we have had stunning displays of daffodils and crocus. The small
iris reticulata were the best for several years but alas they do not last long!
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| Crocus and daffodils |
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| A crocus ring |
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| iris reticulata |
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| Minature tete-a-tetes |
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| The Rheum palmatum is growing well. |
As Sunday drew to a close white whisps of cloud appeared to end what had been a very constructive and busy weekend.
