A sneaky preview.....

Over the last weekend a big push was made to get the new eco-loo in the school garden up to scratch and ready to hand over.  Internal fixings were sourced and secured and a solar powered internal light was fitted for those darker moments.

It was decided to 'stain' the wood shiplap a pleasant shade of green.  The second coat was applied this afternoon and weather permitting the third and final coat will be applied tomorrow.

The water butt is now the seventh  we have installed in the school garden. Hopefully they will help us with the collection of rain water and put us in a more eco-friendlly light reducing the need to resort to a hose pipe.

During sunday afternoon there were good numbers of Migrant Hawker dragonflies quartering over the garden feeding on the large number of gnats sheltering in the warmer air and thermals around the trees. These dragonflies are very agile and almost stand on their head when they stop and turn and chase a  gnat.  In the sky when large numbers are feeding and displaying the scene becomes a ballet dance as the insects perform intricate manoevures of twists and turns.  A delight to the eye.

These dragonflies should and can survive well into November if the weather is not too harsh.  However a sign of autumn approaching was the Robin-  who has now changed his delightlful summer song to a more mournful ditty. Watch the temperatures tumble now.....

We have been here before!

The squirrels are back. They seem to be enjoying a two course meal at the moment.

Starters;
First find a sunflower,  Climb up it until it falls over and then bite the flowering head off



Carry the seed head to the willow classroom and start to eat

 

 

 Discover that it is easier to eat at the table

 

Main Course;
Return to the garden and climb up  a sweet corn plant until it snaps off and remove the cob



 

Carry to willow classroom and find another table

 

 

 

Wandering around the garden yesterday it was a delight to see so many bees and butterflies about. Hoverflies were also in abundance and several species were seen.  The warm weather has brought an influx of migrant insects from France and Red Admiral butterlies were everywhere favouring the buddleia bushes in the bird garden.  Of more interest though was the dozens of Silver Y moths in the garden nectaring from the flowers.  They are a little cryptic when resting!

Finally a close up of a small jewel of an insect which often gets bad press! A  Bluebottle fly. A real jewel in the crown





 

 

A new term now and new faces and more opportunities in the garden



August garden update

It is a little ironic that the school garden comes into bloom when the children are away on holiday.  However all is going well except that the badgers have found the ripened barley and stripped the ears of their seed.  Pigeons too are taking advantage of the lack of human prescence.

Wildlife continues to abound. On sunday afternoon  at one time there were 4 Migrant Hawkers and 2 Emperor Dragpnflies.  In the air at the same time were 3 colourful Jersey Tiger moths and a male Sparrowhawk flew fast and low through the garden clutching a prey item- male Sparrowhawks take smaller birds as prey rather than the larger prey taken by the female. This way both birds never go hungry as they do not chase the same size prey!

A busy bumble bee

The garden club Union Jack finally makes good!

Spot the dragonfly larva case!

For those wondering how the Eco-loo is developing, the construction is going well and the inside has been decorated and many of the fittings installed.. We are, we hope, still on time to deliver for the start of next term. (Subject to contractual small print)



This Saturday and Sunday the school garden was open to the public as part of the National Garden Scheme which has charitable status.  Over the weekend we had about 120 visitors but the maths is yet to be finalised. The pupils,teachers and volunteers worked hard to make sure that we put on our best display.  All the visitors enjoyed the garden and had nothing but good comments to make about it.  As a tribute to the pupils and their teachers this blog entry shows just colour and interest  from the class beds and garden club beds.







We have quoted from Kipling before but unashamedly the entire poem is laid out below. A wonderful baseline for us all.  The quality of life laid out bare. 

IF



If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

With the start now of the school summer holidays we hope and wish that all staff, pupils and garden volunteers have a pleasant break and have a chance to  enjoy the sun and some rest and relaxation.  The blog will tick over during the holidays. 



Look at me!

Hiding in one of the old coconut shell bird feeders was this delightful spider. In the greenhouse the Venus Fly trap had relaxed its' grip on the fly which it had caught last week. The fly had been completely digested.

This one will bite!

The Venus Fly-trap releases the dead fly

Whilst topping up the bird feeders the familiar sound of young birds in a nest begging for food was heard. With caution and stealth the source was traced to  a hole in the wall at the back of the graden behind the bird hide.  A Wren was watched several times taking food into the nest for the young birds inside.  The Wren builds a domed nest so you cannot see the chicks!

Click to enlarge the picture of the Wren

About the garden the small patch of Wheat, Oats and Barley are all doing well and have their seed heads proudly showing.  Barley heads are wonderful things to watch in the breeze.  This fact was captured in poetry by Katharine Tynan in her poem ' The wind that shakes the barley'

There's music in my heart all day,
I hear it late and early,
It comes from fields are far away,
The wind that shakes the barley.

Hungry Plants

This afternoon a fly carelessly landed on a sticky leaf of a sundew plant which was growing under one of the pitcher plants. It stuck instantly on the leaf. This is how the plant feeds. It is an insectivorous plant which, like the pitcher plants, attracts insects- principally flies - to the plant and then slowly devours them.  The sundew leaf will slowly curl over the fly and the fly will be digested by the plant.

 

The sundew plants came along for free with one of the pitcher plants. They are very successful with their catching techniques.  A fly was recently seen to land on one of the pitcher plants and fall in but alas no camera that day!

In the greenhouse the gourds, planted for year 3, are now growing very fast-  about 4 inches a day. The tomatoes are also growing well and the warm days are helping with the papyrus which is slowly awakening after the winter months.

In recent days a rose chafer ( see blog from last year) has been seen in the garden.  A bright green jewel flying fast around the garden.  With the garden open day now over we will have to reinstall the anti-pigeon and squirrel defences.  Hopefully  some pictures of bee species recently seen can be uploaded shortly after a little work done on them.

Pigeon defences!

Yesterday the pea-asparus plants, which were brought on in the greenhouse and recently hardened off, were planted out in one of the Gardening Club beds. Whilst planting them there were two pigeons sat in the tree above watching. After planting them  serious anti-pigeon  measures were taken

Pea-asparagus on the left and purple sprouting on the right

The Mange Tout which the Gardening Club planted two weeks ago has also sprouted and again measures have been taken to keep the birds off them

The Mange-tout

In the greenhouse things are going well and the new papyrus seedlings have responded to a few warm days.  One of the the cactus plants has some stunning flowers

On a more interesting note over the past few weeks we have seen False Black Widow spiders in the sheds and also about the school garden.  These spiders can bite and it can be very painful but generally nobody will come up against these spiders.  However if you should see a black spider in the school garden with a large black hump shaped body give it a bit of respect and do not approach it

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The pale crescent shape on the abdomen is a clue to the identification of this spider.

A recent bee survey has identified six species of bees in the garden in recent weeks. More later.....