June was the month
of “30 Days Wild”. It would have been lovely to get out and about
more. I did manage a few walks by our local canal. There was one
superb day in the southern Highlands, going up Stob Binnein with a
group of friends. The spectacular day amongst the wild flowers and
birds at Aberlady coincided with the battery on my camera running
out, so there are no pictures. But I was thrilled to see a dabchick
(Little Grebe) and lots of twayblades – a big green orchid.
But mainly the 30
Days Wild scheme was an incentive to observe my wild-life garden a
bit more closely every day and chart the numerous developments over
the summer.
The spring blossoms
– rowan and hawthorn – were pretty well over. But there were
frothy white elderflowers, even though I cut the bushes back pretty
heavily in the winter. Just in time, before June ended, the sweet
briar that tangles all over the garage, bloomed. It has ferocious
spines and beautiful pink flowers.
On the very last day
before the scheme ended an orchid came into flower in the patch of
uncut grass that I call the meadow. It is cut like a traditional
hay-field, in late summer. Then in autumn it is raked and re-cut and
trampled, which perhaps creates the effect of cattle grazing. For a
really fine meadow one ought to clear the ground and re-seed it with
a special mixture. We've just left it as a former lawn – and so far
this year we've had buttercups, cuckoo-flowers, speedwell – and
this orchid. The long grass can be pretty too, and it is ideal cover
for frogs.
I do think it is a
mistake only to value wild nature when it is pretty, or expensive, or
sublime. Blackfly are irritating to gardeners, but they are as
remarkable as any other phenomenon. As for nettles, they can be
invasive, and I spend a lot of time pulling them out where they are
not wanted – but are the flowers not complex and delicate. On the
bird-feeders I'm pleased to see blue-tits and sparrows. But my 30
Days Wild photo happened to be a goldfinch. They are no less
wonderful because more common than they used to be. The garden does
seem good for pollinators, though I lack the expertise or the
patience to tell one bumblebee from another.
The most exciting
bit of wild nature this June was, as usual, the pond. It has become
terribly overgrown; but that is good for some things. It is now
bright with spearwort and the yellow flag irises are blazing.
Pond-skaters are the most conspicuous insect; they seem to defy all
predators. As for the predators, I know there are plenty of palmate
newts around, though they are shy. Easier to spot are the frogs, and
it was such a pleasure last week to spot a baby looking for cover.
This house and
garden is too big for an elderly retired couple, so we are soon, I expect, to
move out. The new owners will, of course, manage it how they want. I hope that they will enjoy the wild life too.
