Newland Wildlife
After the wet August, the drier September has been more useful for gathering the seeds of wildflowers. This appeals to me, as not only are the varieties of local origin but they are also free. The seeds do best when sown in trays or pots, rather than directly into the ground. Red campion is always easy to grow, along with ox-eye daisy, which can be too successful. Bird’s foot trefoil (host for the common blue butterfly), ragged robin and foxgloves have germinated well, lesser knapweed less so and meadow scabious requires some patience (and perhaps a cold spell). Some of these plants now provide a decorative cottage garden border on the wildlife garden to create an eye-catching entrance and living seed bank.
The Newland Wildlife area took first prize in the community section of the ‘Hull in Bloom’ competition, 2004.
David
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