bee on a flower

The robins, blackbirds, great tits and blue tits are frequent visitors to our plots on Cavendish House allotment site.

Solitary bees are already visiting the few flowers that are open in these early spring days.

Why not add bee friendly plants to your plot to help the bees and improve pollination?

Daffodils and poached egg plant for spring, lavender and foxgloves for early summer, oregano for mid summer, Verbena bonariensis and Sedum spectabile for autumn.

Beneficial insects such as lacewing that have voracious appetites for greenfly will also love flat flowers such as the poached egg plant, oregano and sedum suggested above.

Please take care not to harm beneficial wildlife such as frogs and thrushes by careless use of slug pellets. There is a slug pellet, ‘Advanced Slug Killer’, based on ferric phosphate, which is claimed to be harmless to wild life. Alternatively use barriers or traps containing beer or cider to attract them. There are more details in last April’s newsletter.