Ellis
Garden at the start of the project		A Blank Canvas		The Master Plan		Progress
March, April, May March Removal of leylandii hedge at foot of garden April Planted: Clematis Montana side of arbour Honeysuckle – Lonicera periclymenum side of arbour Erected a bee house on fence behind honeysuckle May Planted: Silver Birch – Betula pendula Rowan - Sorbus aucuparia Buddleia davidii (Nanhoe Blue) Rabbit visiting lawn September, October, November, December September Shrubs planted: Flowering currant – Ribes sanguineum (Pulborough scarlet) Shrubby cinquefoil – Potentilla Fruticosa (Katherine Dykes) Winter Jasmin – Jasminum Nudiflorum Mahonia aquifolia (Exception) Japanese flowering quince – Chaenomeles japonica Bell Heather - Erica Guelder Rose (bush) – Viburnham opulus compactus Winter honeysuckle – Lonicera purpusii Winter viburnham – Laurustinus - Viburnham tinus Bramble - rubus Potentilla fruticus Ivy – hedera helix Front garden: Front gate: Berberis - thunbergii Sun/Rock rose – cistus skanbergii Escallonia Skimmia japonica Acer – Beni-maiko Fuschia – Lady Thumb Flowers planted: Sedum - Carl Michaelmas daisy - aster Creation of Herb Garden: Bay – laurus nobilus; Rosemary – rosmarinus haifus; Lavender – lavandula (Madrid); Mint; Parsley; Sage - icterina; Thyme - thymus; Marjoram – origanum vulgare; Curry plant; Basil Placed compost heap at the bottom of the garden Fixed guttering and water butt to the new shed (for the pond) Started a log pile at the bottom of the garden Put out a Bumble Bee box Put out butterfly and insect hibernation box Built the Wildlife Pond Planted: Marsh marigold, water forget-me-not, Creeping Jenny October Planted wildflower bulbs of: Snowdrops, bluebells, grape hyacinths, anemone, winter aconite, Daffodil Put up robin and tit nest boxes December Garden visitor – a pheasant Birds visiting during 2006 Bluetit, great tit, coal tit, long-tailed tit, blackbird, dunnock, robin, wren, house sparrow, sparrow-hawk, pheasant, mallard, wood pigeon, jackdaw, song thrush, chaffinch, nuthatch Life Begins April 2007 APRIL 1. Put up bat box on side of house 2. Up to 5 mallards (4 males, 1 female) visiting most days, often twice or more 3. Started planting up of pond 4. A bucket of pond water, including tadpoles, sludge, oxegenator etc was donated by a neighbour with an established pond. 5. Further planting of borders and wild flower meadow 6. Created a corn meadow from seed 7. Planted cherry tree – Prunus (Pink Perfection) 8. Sweet pea plants in trough against fence Planted: Back border Sweet William – Dianthus barbatus (butterflies, bumblebees) Drumstick primula - Primula denticulate Lungwort – Pulmonaria (N) Monk’shood – Aconitum napellus (N) Teasel – Dipsacus fullonum (N) (butterfly larvae, bees & butterflies, birds). Valerian – Valeriana officinallis (N) (butterflies) Wood avens – Geum urbanum (N) Water avens – Geum rivale (N) (bees) Side Border African marigolds – Tagetes erecta (butterfies) Evening primrose – Oenothera biennis (N) (bees, moths, birds) Aaron’s rod – Verbascum thapsus (N) Red campion – Silene dioica (N) (butterflies, moth larvae) Golden rod – Solidago virgaurea (N) (bees, butterflies, moths, birds) Candy tuft seeds sown – Iberis amara (bees, butterflies) Crocosmia masoniorum – under honeysuckle Wildflower Meadow Teasel – Dipsacus fullonum (N) (butterfly larvae, bees & butterflies, birds.) Hedge woundwort – Stachys sylvatica (N) Devil’s bit scabious – Succisa pratensis (N) Welsh poppy – Meconopsis cambrica (N) Yarrow – Achillea millefolium (N) Yellow loosestrife – Lysimachia vulgaris (N) Corn-meadow Field poppy – Papver rhoeas (N) Corn cockle – agrostemma githaga (N) Self heal – Prunella vulgaris (N) Ox-eye daisy – Chrysanthemum leucanthemum (N) Corn marigold – Chrysanthemum segetum (N) Field scabious – Knautia arvensis (N) Pond Edge: Water forget-me-not – Myosotis scorpioides Creeping Jenny – lllysimacia nummularia Water mint – Mentha aquatica Margins: Monkey flower – Mimulus luteus Water avens – Geum rivale Yellow flag iris – Iris pseudacorus Ragged Robin – Lychnis flos-cuculi Purple loosestrife – Lythrum salicaria Meadowsweet – Filipendula ulmaria Wildlife Seen in the Garden During 2008 Animals Hedgehog - during the spring, at feeder outside back door Mouse - nesting in the wall, coming to ground feeder in evening Rabbits - one large, one small – love clover, but also new buds! Weasel - emerged from mouse-hole in grass – seen Oct to April Red squirrel - came 3 times to ground-feeder – a first in 3 years! 5 species Birds Blackbirds - a whole family through winter from last year Dunnock - all year visitor Robin - a regular Wood pigeon - 2 or 3, frustrated cannot get food from ground-feeder Jackdaws - in abundance – all feeders therefore squirrel/jackdaw-proof Chaffinch - especially in summer Greenfinch - occasional visitor Goldfinch - a family come to niger seed-feeder Siskin - delightful visitors to niger seed-feeder Wren - seems to prefer front garden Blue tit - visitors to seed-feeder Coal tit - nested in neighbour’s garden on other side of our fence Great tit - spasmodic Long-tailed tit- very occasionally Pheasant - occasional winter visitor – skates on pond! Sparrowhawk- we could do without him, though does not visit too often Mallard - like to land in the pond – had different ones, male and female Housesparrows usually only see when young are feeding Song thrush - very occasional visitor Magpie - particularly young in spring Nuthatch - 2 or 3 sightings on seed-feeder – a delight Collared dove- just occasionally Chiffchaff - once, flitting around the valerian, buddleia and silver birch 22 species Pond Tadpoles - laid in pond – but no sight of frogs!!!! – tadpoles not survive Diving beetles do they eat the tadpoles? Pond skaters Insects Bees - bumble and other varieties – nest in bargeboards under guttering Wildflowers Bistort - ? Bluebells Broadleaf dock Bugle Buttercup Corn Marigold Cowslip Creeping Jenny Cuckoo Lower / Ladies Smock Daisy Dandelion Fox and Cubs Foxglove Golden Rod Groundsel Lesser Knapweed Lesser Reedmace Lesser Spearmint Lungwort Marsh Marigold Meadowsweet Mimulus Monkshood Ox-eye Daisy Plantain Primrose Purple Loostrife Ragged Robin Red Clover Red Poppy Self Heal Shepherd’s Purse Sorrell - ? Snowdrops Stinging nettles Teasel Valerian – white Water Avens Water Forget-me-not Water Mint White Clover White Water-lily Wild Daffodils Willowherb Wood Avens Woundwort Yarrow Yellow Flag Iris Yellow Poppy Yellow Thistle - ? 50 species			June, July, August July Reconstruction of the garden, including new picket fence between gardens, retaining wall and path, patio for arbour in corner of garden. Mallards feeding from ground feeder & visiting front garden August Shrubs planted: Holly – Ilex aquifolium Pyracantha (orange charmer) Cotoneaster horizontalis Ivy – Hedera helix Heather/Ling – Calluna vulgaris (Anne Marie) Jasmin – jasminum officinale Shrubby Veronica – Hebe salicifolia Pots: Clematis rouge cardinal – against trellis, on back wall of house Pieris carnival Lavatera – on front fence at back-gate Flowers planted: Sedum (autumn joy) Mouse visiting ground feeder The Pond January to March 2007 January 2007 1. Signs of new bulbs – needing to be protected from the rabbit! Planted: Lawson Cypress in pot on patio RSPB Big garden Birdwatch: - a very wet, windy day 1 Blackbird (2), 0 bluetit (2), 1 dunnock (2), 5 jackdaw (4), 1 robin (2), 2 woodpigeon (4) – plus 2 longtailed tits on previous day February 1. Snowdrops flowering 2. Placed fat bars on ground-feeder – much appreciated by robin, dunnock and blackbird March 1. Wild bulbs planted in autumn flowering: wild daffodils, winter aconite 2. Flowering current in leaf and flower 3. Pruned: clematis, cotoneaster up against the fence 4. Created a Wildflower Spring Meadow area 5. Added a hedgehog house under the fence and started putting out hedgehog food at 3 stations Planted: Back border: Foxglove - Digitalis purpurea (bumblebees), Hollyhocks – alcea rosea, Columbine - Aquilegia (bumblebees) Side Border Blue Spiraea – Caryopteris clandonensis (honeybees) Crocosmia masoniorum Rockery surrounding waterfall: 4 ferns(including Harts Tongue, Japanese Rosy Buckler Fern, Cristate Male Fern), Hypericum perforatum, Lonicera nitida gold, Saxifraga (Peter Pan), Aubretia (bees, butterflies) Primroses (butterflies) (N) Bugle (butterflies)(N), Cowslips (butterflies) (N), Deschampsia Flexuosa (Tatra Gold) – Wavy Hair Grass, Wildflower Spring Meadow Wildflower plugs, all native, and provide pollen and nectar for bees, caterpillars and butterflies. Cuckoo flower/ladies smock Greater stitchwort Self-heal Red clover Lesser knapweed Harebell Bird’s-foot trefoil, Ox-eye daisy Plants of: Primula veris – cowslip, Fritillaria meleagris – snakes head fritillary 21st March Visited by 3 mallards (2 male, 1 female) Onwards They swim on the (duck!)pond and feed at the ground feeder 22nd March Hedgehog feeding at 3 feeding stations 28th March Marsh Marigold flowering on pond. May 2007 MAY 1. Ducks continue to visit the pond daily, feeding on the ground feeder, drinking from the pond, swimming on the pond, then going to sleep around the pond! Unfortunately they disturb the new plants etc that we are trying to establish on and around the pond – but we shall get there in the end. 2. Two or three tadpoles seem to have survived and are growing quite big. Water snails were added to the pond. 2. Many baby birds are feeing at the feeding stations, including varieties that we do not often see, such as chaffinch, house sparrows, greenfinch. There are several baby coal-tits. 3. The garden also has a few small mice who occasionally feed at the ground feeder. 4. Completing the planting of the various areas of the garden has been the main task this month. 5. Several shrubs have needed tying back and given support, such as the buddleia, bramble, winter honeysuckle, chaenomeles japonica, pyracantha Planting Back Border Foxglove – Digitalis purpurea (bumble bees) Snap-dragon – antirrhinum (bumblebees) Side Border Pink (tickled pink) – Dianthus (moths, butterflies) Scabious (diamond blue) – Scabiosa columbaria (bees, butterflies) Wildflower Meadow Fox and cubs – Pilosella aurantiaca (N) Flowering sage - Salvia nemorosa (pink friesland) (bees) Stinging nettle (self-seed) – Urtica dioica (birds, butterflies)(N) Lobelia cardinalis (former pond plant) Cornfield Lady’s Mantle – Alchemilla Herb Garden pots Nasturtiums – Nasturtiumm Alaska (bees, beetles, birds, mammals) Parsley Chives – Allium schoenoprasum (bees, butterflies) Pond Submerged: Starwort – Calatriche verna White waterlily – Nymphaea alba Edge: Purple loosestrife – Lythrum salicaria Lesser spearwort – Ranaunculus flammula Lesser reedmace – Typha augustifolia Waterfall rockery Shrubs: Escallonia (bees, bumblebees, butterflies) Californian lilac – Ceanothus (bees, bumblebees) Plants: Chaenorrhinum origanifolium Sedum cappa blanca Stonecrop – Sedum lydium Bolax glebaria