Can You Change Your Gardening Maintenance to Help Our Butterflies?

[Weststander]

Do you post your sightings on the Sussex Butterfly Conservation web site by any chance?

No. I only found out about them last week, when planning more planting in a revamp of my front garden. I'm cross referencing recommended plants from both butterfly and bumblebee organisation websites, which suit chalky down land soil, before choosing.

All the best with your own endeavours.

 

[Bodian]

Rather ironic.....



Although to be fair, it is a replacement patio, rather than removing existing valuable habitat.

 

[AmexRuislip]

View attachment 86932

One of many visitors feasting in our front garden last week.

Can you re-attach image, as I cannot see, due to special permission rights

 

[AmexRuislip]

Great article BTW, I know the National Trust are very big on this issue.

 

[Rugrat]

Rather ironic.....

View attachment 86949

Although to be fair, it is a replacement patio, rather than removing existing valuable habitat.

Yes, it is a replacement. My Mrs is an avid gardener, spends hours a week looking after our 'flora and fauna' and has stuff like this amongst her most important objectives. She is acutely aware (I'm not I'm afraid) of the need to provide an environment that can support the needs of bees and butterfly's and such like. I'm more than happy that we are doing our bit

 

[MattBackHome]

If anyone wants to make a start on this sort of thing this weekend, then Mrs [MENTION=15605]knocky1[/MENTION] is at 'Wishfest' in Wish Park tomorrow afternoon flogging all manner of pollinator friendly plants* with all proceeds going straight to charity.

*I quote her: "Comfrey, Verbena Bonariensis, Cosmos, Pulmonaria, Cranesbill and Sedum. Also Carex grasses, Alchemillia Mollis and totally trendy Geum Totally Tangerine"

 

[Norman Potting]

My old mum bless her got very stressed recently because the grass surrounding the car parks at our local hospital had not been cut. I couldn't see a problem as it all looked very attractive and "meadowy" and was alive with a wide variety of wee winged beasties; there were probably various 4 legged wee beasties watching us from the undergrowth.

Later on when returning to the car we watched fascinated for quite a while as a kestrel hovered over this busy area presumably waiting to spoil a poor rodent's day. I think she sort of understood then.

In her day I am sure there were lots of "proper" meadows and areas such as church yards were cut to "centre court" standard. Personally I don't have a problem with verges and the like remaining uncut provided areas affecting visibility are maintained.

 

[perseus]

Not by a long chalk.

The bowling green areas where wild flowers have been sown are non-native. They provide nectar for insects but not food for caterpillars. They do make a splash of colour though.
To see areas which have been built to replicate downland and planted with native wild flowers, there are sites at Roedean Old 9-Hole Golf Course, across the road from the currently used mini-golf course, Swanborough Flats in Whitehawk, below the all-weather pitches in East Brighton Park, and the entrance to Woodingdean Bowling Green. There are other small banks all over the city, but these aforementioned ones are the biggest and best.
Apart from hard surfaces, the most sterile garden surface is regularly mown grass!

Native chalk grassland (or herbland as it is often only a small % grass) cannot really be replaced or it takes over a century. All the authorities can do is make a poor imitation. In the seventies they tried but made a mistake of using native British plants of foreign provenance which the butterflies did not like or had differing flowering periods.

By my reckoning butterflies of every species bar one have decreased by 2003 (a good year) by tremendous amounts with 90% reduction of some. And or most parts nobody seems to know the reason. Parasites of the caterpillar have resulted in massive falls in numbers of Small Tortoiseshell which used to be so common as to be be boring.

​

Mowing verges: let the plants have time to set seed before mowing. But even verges (A27 at Shoreham) that have mostly been left to their own devices for nearly fifty years are still worth visiting sometimes, and better than farming land, but still not a patch on unimproved chalk downland. Not by a long chalk.

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

One side of our garden, bordering woods, is full of blackberries intermingled with nettles and this seems to attract butterflies by the score.

 

[The Birdman]

We got many verges planted with Wilde flowers in Mid Sussex which are marked with post so the public know.
However we still get many request to cut them.
I believe on the side of Ditchling Beacon is a fenced off area for Butterfly's we could all plant bee friendly plants would help.

 

[Weststander]

One side of our garden, bordering woods, is full of blackberries intermingled with nettles and this seems to attract butterflies by the score.
View attachment 86954

The nettles are critical, for the growth of larvae.

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blogs/woodland-trust/2016/05/butterflies-need-nettles/

You're reaping the benefits with the display of butterflies.

 

[Bodian]

Yes, it is a replacement. My Mrs is an avid gardener, spends hours a week looking after our 'flora and fauna' and has stuff like this amongst her most important objectives. She is acutely aware (I'm not I'm afraid) of the need to provide an environment that can support the needs of bees and butterfly's and such like. I'm more than happy that we are doing our bit

Good stuff. We have a tiny postage stamp of a back yard - and when we moved in it was just slate and concrete. It's quite a lot more beastie-friendly now, but it amazed me how much hard engineering it actually took! Best of both worlds really - I get to dig and build, and she gets the birds in.

 

[vegster]

Grow more Brassica's, this will produce an abundance of Cabbage White's which can be hand-painted in the colours and patterns of the rarer breeds by teams of redundant pottery workers from Stoke-on Trent. Simples

 

[Weststander]

Good stuff. We have a tiny postage stamp of a back yard - and when we moved in it was just slate and concrete. It's quite a lot more beastie-friendly now, but it amazed me how much hard engineering it actually took! Best of both worlds really - I get to dig and build, and she gets the birds in.

I've done a lot of that hard landscaping and hard core etc removal. Satisfying to do it yourself, even if a slog, and makes the final garden all the more rewarding.

 

[Weststander]

BBC 2 covering these issues right now, from RHS Hampton.

 

[LowKarate]

I'm all for helping butterflies, but can any of them play LB?

Our council is doing their bit here by leaving most of the grass verges on our street un-mown. That might sound like a complaint and for some of my neighbours it is an issue, but for me it isn't a problem at all.

We also have a thriving hedgehog, toad, several goldfinches, robins, tits (oo-er), parakeets, etc... as regular visitors to our garden and bees a-plenty.

 

[knocky1]

If anyone wants to make a start on this sort of thing this weekend, then Mrs [MENTION=15605]knocky1[/MENTION] is at 'Wishfest' in Wish Park tomorrow afternoon flogging all manner of pollinator friendly plants* with all proceeds going straight to charity.

*I quote her: "Comfrey, Verbena Bonariensis, Cosmos, Pulmonaria, Cranesbill and Sedum. Also Carex grasses, Alchemillia Mollis and totally trendy Geum Totally Tangerine"

She will be indeed. Donate your money, get some plants, let them attract bees and butterflies, have a beer in the beer tent and enjoy the day. Wishfest at Wish Park, Hove. 12 pm start.

 

[perseus]

Which blue colour scheme is the best?

 

[LamieRobertson]

Great thread ..off out now grass cutting at five places ..oh dear
But then I do a lot of planting too!

 

[Jack Straw]

Which blue colour scheme is the best?

Choose from this lot of nectar plants, although not that good for caterpillars (I'll use the common rather than the Latin names); Well, you did ask
Aubretia
Bluebells
Bugle
Forget-me-nots
Grape Hyacinths
Honesty
Rosemary
Bellflower
Ceanothus
Comfrey
Granny's Bonnet
Buddleia
Cardoon
Globe thistle
Hebe
Knapweeds
Lavendar
Scabious
Sea Holly
Teasel
Thistles
Verbena bonariensis
Vipers Bugloss
Echium
If you want a list caterpillar food plants as well, just say!