April in the pollinator garden
April is the month where finally the patient work of the Autumn and Winter comes to spectacular fruition in the wildlife garden.
Now in its 4th year, for the first time the garden is starting to look less of a ‘work in progress’ and closer to a mature landscape. It’s easy sometimes, (especially in the Marden mud!) to get bogged down with the disappointments, such as plants lost to the winter snow, lawns turning into a quagmire akin to Glastonbury festival, and the first new shoots of the dahlias you’ve been steadfastly monitoring being razed to the ground by hungry slugs overnight.
April is forgiving, the time when one can suddenly see that ‘it was all worth it’, and the months of expectation are now revelation.
The fruit trees are covered in blossom, with the pear tree hopefully bearing fruit for the first time this Autumn. We’ve tried to plant local variety fruit trees as they will be better suited to our heavy clay soil, (more on the ‘dreaded’ Marden Clay later!). We have Kent Sunset and Russet apple trees, and Bigarreau Napoleon cherry. Brogdale in Faversham give lifetime care with any tree purchased from their National Fruit Tree colection, and their expertise on which, when and where to plant the trees is unrivalled.
The spring flowers have burst into life, which have bought the pollinators out in swarms. The garden is literally buzzing! We try and keep some of the plants classified as ‘weeds’ in pockets all over the garden. Not only are they excellent sources of nectar for pollinators, but the leaves are foodplants for many of our butterfly and moth caterpillars. Orange-tips feed on the pretty Cuckoo flowers, and our garden is full of the dainty Hairy Bittercress this time of year, which is not only a great pollinator plant but also delicious in salads.
Here are our ‘tried and tested’ top recommendations for cultivated Spring flowers which the bees and hoverflies really love in our garden, all photographed:
Primroses (wild-type only, as the brightly-coloured pink and blue primulas are visited by the bees far less frequently).
Snakeshead Fritillary. My desert island plant! The chequerboard patterns are other-worldly, and at this time of year you can still buy them ‘in the green’ and ready to plant out, (eBay is an excellent source for bluebells, snowdrops and Snakeshead Fritillary ‘in the green’. They thrive in our heavy clay soil and readily self-sow; you only need to buy them once.
Leucojum aestivum or ‘Summer Snowflake’. These bulbs were planted out last Autumn and we’ve been really impressed with the beautiful show of white nodding bells. The bees have been impressed too.
Anemone Coronaria. I picked up my bulbs for just £2.50 at Wilkos last year and they have been spectacular. ‘Mr Fokker’ is a beautiful deep blue and grows readily in our soil conditions. Word of warning; slugs love the flowers too!
Cerinthe Major. A rather unusual-looking plant which regularly self-seeds. I let it stay wherever it pops up. Loved by the Hairy-Footed Flower Bee, (female can be seen in the photograph).
Money is tight for many of us right now. We have a family with kids, a lot of pets and are looking to cut costs wherever possible. April and May are the ideal time to consider growing pollinator plants from seed. Our garden is a fairly small plot and we do not have enough space for a greenhouse. Last year we invested in a mini polythene greenhouse which is very easy to assemble, (£28 currently from Wilko, plus delivery). Using our own home-made compost we have filled seed trays and planted Cosmos, Field Scabious and Calendula. You only need a 1m floor area for the greenhouse and the kids love helping with planting out the seeds into the containers and watching them grow. We’ll have lots of seedlings left over, so will be sharing what we don’t plant out with neighbours. Marden Horticultural Society also have a fantastic ‘plant swap’ service where you can grow and exchange seedlings for free, which is an efficient and economical way to help the pollinators over the summer.
Finally, (and I hope you don’t mind the indulgence), I wanted to end this month’s blog full-circle with some thoughts on forgiveness and self-care when gardening, which should particularly resonate with anyone creating a wildlife garden and trying to make it all come together the organic way! I often think when watching ‘Gardener’s World’ that I would like to see Monty Don do an episode where he shows everything that has not gone to plan over the last year. I think it’s all too easy to be ‘green with envy’ when seeing our friends and neighbour’s gardens. April and May are the times when the full onslaught of winter has become apparent. We lost our phormium, but so did two of our neighbours. I pruned my hardy fuchsias too early and lost 2 of the 3. The Hebe out the front didn’t make it, (but I have been reliably informed by a professional horticulturalist that Hebe’s are not adapted to survive the soggy Marden clay through the winter). We plant things in the wrong place and they don’t thrive. We might buy plants that will struggle in our micro-climate and soil. We might prune at the wrong times, (clematis, I’m looking at YOU!) But the best thing about gardening is that you can rip it up and start again, (hat tipped to Edwyn Collins for the plagiarism). This is the time of year to appreciate everything that we’ve done right in the garden, not just for the wildlife, but also for ourselves.