We’ve had Goldfinches visiting our garden over the past few days. They are attracted to the Teasel seed heads which I left on over winter specifically for these visitors. Despite being lashed about by the wind and rain for the past few months there are still plenty of seeds and small insects tucked away inside the spiky cones.
Everywhere I looked today there were Ladybirds. I spotted the colourful beetles on the decaying vegetation first of all…
I’m not sure whether they were eating or just sunbathing. Then I started to hunt for them and I found them in the new flowers of every euphorbia in the Gravel Garden and all over the box topiary.
How does a plant that looks so delicate survive a British winter?
We have had gales and torrential rain and yet the Phlomis seedheads I photographed in autumn… five months ago… are still unscathed.
Three male pheasants visited our garden this morning looking for something tasty to eat. They found what they wanted around the bird table where we throw seeds, fruit and nuts for the ground feeding birds. Seeing them made me think about all the living creatures we don’t spot at this time of year…particularly all the small insects.
Woodpeckers are common British birds. They are easy to spot in and around your garden during winter when the trees are bare. In summer when the trees are in full leaf you can sometimes hear them but it is very difficult to see them.
Hedgehogs hibernate in compost heaps, piles of leaves or logs and patches of lush grass throughout winter. If you do see one in your garden in the next few months it’s likely to need some help. Here’s why…
October is usually the month for a big garden tidy up. The problem is that all the wild creatures that I’ve worked so hard to attract into our garden this year actually live here. They don’t just visit for the summer! Beetles, caterpillars and hedgehogs hide in piles of fallen leaves, insects find homes in hollow stems or seed heads and newts and toads need undisturbed dry areas too.
All of them depend on us for their home.
Imagine being homeless all winter. It’s cold and wet and windy. Yuk!