via Woodland Trust
This weeks garden class with the grade three students was a lot of fun. We learned about how seeds travel and where the seeds are on the plant. To start the day they had to spend ten minutes observing in the garden. This way they can see how the seasons change and the effect it has on the plants. They soon noticed that the sunflowers had dropped their heads. When I asked them why this had happened, they were quick to say that the flowers was preparing to drop its seeds. Once we had our discussion about what they had observed I asked if they had noticed anything else that wasn’t a plant. One little girl piped up and said, ” I saw that there are sticks around the garden.” I chuckled at this as she was referring to our new fence as sticks.
To learn about the different seed…
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Part of the fun of encouraging biodiversity is seeing all the little critters this time of year. I try to have something blooming from March through November, if possible, and that gives opportunities for many species to survive.
The sedum is even busier this weekend. This praying mantis has been sitting on the sedum all weekend. It did not actually snatch anything while I was watching. The painted lady butterfly was on the sedum all weekend, too.
Side view of painted lady butterfly on sedum.
Also on the sedum were this little skipper butterfly and many kinds of bees and flies. I can see why the praying mantis hangs out here. There was also a little yellow sulphur butterfly, I am not exactly sure which kind of sulphur it was. I can’t show pictures all the species that were on the sedum!
Praying mantis blends in on miscanthus “morning light” ornamental grass. This one has a…
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‘The roaming radius of British children — i.e.. the distance they wander from their home — has shrunk by 90 per cent in the last 30 years
It’s a disheartening statistic, but one that has inspired award-winning filmmaker David Bond, who, keen for future generations not to miss out on the magic of the great outdoors, dreamed up PROJECT WILD THING.
The film itself is only one part of Bond’s campaign, which enlists a number of scientists, nature experts, sociologists, as well as the National Trust, to set about selling nature to kids.
Conscious that it will take more than eulogising to prise them away from their TVs and games consoles, Bond also recruits a marketing team to lend their branding savvy and repackage the countryside.
A charming exercise in creative, socially-minded activism, PROJECT WILD THING is a grass-roots triumph..’
As summer draws to a close, not only is it the time to harvest seeds, it is also the ideal time to sow seeds as the soil is beautifully warm. By sowing now, either direct into a prepared space in the garden or into a pot, which is positioned against south facing wall or in a cold green house, you will have herbs that you can harvest throughout the winter months that will help you transform a meal into a feast .
One of the best is Parsley, both Curly, Petroselinum crispum and Flat leaved French, Petroselinum cripsum French.
By sowing now it will germinate in approximately 10-14 days. The seedlings will not be hassled by carrot fly and, once established, the plants will withstand frosts. After a frost they do look rather sad, but very quickly they perk back ready for use in the kitchen.
Another…
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Early September sees the light values changing in subtle ways. As the sun dips against a blue sky and evening takes over from the day, light comes into the garden from much lower down. This angle has a magical effect on the prairie planting in our Beth Chatto Garden.
I couldn’t resist taking my camera with long lens out the first time I was lucky enough to spot these first signs of Autumn. Please let me know what you think of these photos. I have included every shot I fired off in a brief ten minutes of special light. Catch the moment!
So here is the gallery warts and all, no interference from Photoshop. As usual click on any photo to get going and then click on the arrow.
Roseberry Topping and Teeside from Gribdale via Andrea Brown
Nigel Boldero aka 'Old School Gardener'
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