October Activity

You can tell that autumn is here and winter is drawing on, but we have had some beautiful clear blue days and quite mild weather.  There's not much happening with regard to bees and no more butterflies, but things are still happening in my little wildlife garden.

Crocus Conqueror

The autumn flowering bulbs that I planted in September are now starting to flower. Here is the most advanced of all of them.  We did get a small flower from the Colchicum Autumnale Album, but that did not look anything like as impressive as I hoped or indeed as it does in the link I have given.

My home made wild flower beds now are completely dormant but I have planted some snowdrop bulbs, which will I hope show themselves early next spring to show that new life is approaching in the garden.  I have also planted some dwarf tulips in another border, where they will be protected from the worst of the winds that we get early on in the season.

To attract wildlife and provide a shelter for bugs, I have finally started a log pile from a variety of logs collected at Forge Valley Woods.   I will try to add to it over the winter in order to get a variety of wood types, but here it is as it stands at the moment.  I shall see over the next few months if it attracts anything to settle in it.

I have also now got a stinging nettle plant, which is a very important plant for wildlife in the UK.  It is used for the growth of butterfly larvae and nettle patches are good places to see moths.  I'm not sure where I am going to plant it yet, but will find somewhere in the next week.

Another project for this month will be a bug home.  More news of this later.