2 minute read
Wildlife Edge
patch of woodland at TL953726. Will go and investigate further!’ [Paul did so within hours, returning with White Admiral sightings from 2 woods from which there were no previous records, in a tetrad also without any previous records.]
3.
‘Success! I parked just off the A143 by the entrance to the Green Lane; there are a couple of passing places where one can sensibly leave the car. I walked through into the main body of Half Grove Wood and about three quarters of the way through got to a little clearing on the path with honeysuckle growing up an oak tree and there was one flitting about. I could see to the south that there were sunny glades and there were at least half a dozen White Admirals there. I worked my way through to the further glade passing another couple of White Admirals on the way and there were two more in the next glade. In all I am confident I saw at least 13 individual White Admirals, several looking in very fine shape. ’ 4.
‘A very 21st century find! My Pakenham White Admiral photo on Facebook elicited a response from Claire. I Googled the location to see where to go and used the Maps app on my phone to work out where I was. Couldn ’t have happened even 5 years ago. ’
From Tim: ‘Back in July I visited Bradfield Woods a few times to see the White Admirals. Wellies were essential, but paddling through the mud was worth it. I got the impression they were doing well, and saw them along more rides than in previous years. I even found one basking on the gravel path not far past the visitor centre when I was there on July 15th, and counted a total of 15 that afternoon. I didn ’t see any Silver-washed Fritillaries at Bradfield this year, but probably I wasn ’t looking in the right areas, and was preoccupied with the White Admirals. ’
How about an impressive display of colour in your garden, which not only pleases the eye but also encourages wildlife to thrive? I have come up with a very simple idea that will transform your garden, bring in the wildlife and enrich your life.
Most gardens consist of at least one area of grass. This always has to be kept in check either by strimming or digging out the edges when the grass grows over pathways. After a tough gardening job of scrapping grass and soil from a tarmac path which had spilled over from a lawn, I came up with a good plan to prevent it happening again. I dug out a 20cms wide border around the edge of the lawn. I planted it with Ajuga reptans which has purple leaves and flower spikes in early Summer. These produce tiny purple flowers which attract bees and butterflies. This plant spreads easily, covering the bare ground and the lawn edge. This means that there will eventually be an end to cutting the lawn edge with shears as the plant will weave itself into the grassy edge.
I planted Lavendula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ all along the border 60cms apart. These plants are nectar rich, attracting bees and various types of butterfly. I scattered a huge amount of Papaver rhoeas ‘Wild Red Poppy ’ seeds in
