[Puenktchen]

Hi

I have recently made two videos of my wildlife-friendly allotment. The allotment consists of one full plot and one half plot (375 m2 in total). I grow a wide variety of vegetables and fruit but also want my allotment to be a great place for wildlife. I am especially interested in attracting pollinators so have planted many different flowers. I have also build a small pond which has now two resident frogs. The plot also has bee hotels, compost heaps and several small wildflower meadows.

If anyone is interested in watching the videos, here are the links:
My wildlife-friendly allotment in June/July 2015: _ne_VH1njLwMy wildlife-friendly allotment plot in early August 2015: IsvF6oYPapw

[LottyLouis]

Ah ha! Great minds! We've had our allotment for two months now and I've turned one end of it into a Bee Garden. I scrounged a tree stump from a local wood guy and positioned it in a corner - as a seat. I've planted lavender, borage and all the usual suspects. Home-made bee hotels are all over the shop and a bee drinking area sits in another corner. I have random old logs piled up, piles of bark and other yummy places for critters to hide. Noticed yesterday that a mason bee has been busy in one of the hotels. 

[Puenktchen]

Sounds great! My mason bees have been very active this year, they have filled nearly all the tubes in my 4 hotels. Have also seen some leafcutter bee activity. It is always fun to watch all the different wildlife going about their business :-).

[rosiecider]

Looking at the video wih mute button on and could imagine the humming and activity noise

[neatntidy]

Making space for wildlife is one of the best things you can do on an allotment in my opinion. Last summer put in a small pond, log and stone piles and planted a bee bed. Didn't get many visitors at 1st and pond full of algae. But it settled down over winter and I added a couple of patches of long grass and now everything has moved in. No spawn but baby frogs and toads, loads of pond skaters etc. Bees love the chives and wildlflowers. Couple of weeks ago i found baby newts in pond. It really is amazing to sit and watch. Totally changed my plot and sure it helps keeps the slugs down. If you do have amphibians on your plot then please don't use slug pellets.

[ARPoet]

I am well impressed. I do the same at home but on a smaller scale. I cant resist walking about in September with paper bags in my pockets to recycle some wildflower seed heads back home.

[Puenktchen]

Just finished a new allotment video about my plot at the end of August. Harvesting a lot of fruit and vegetables now and still lots of bees and other wildlife around.

Here is the video: XDhz-llM3CY

[Beekissed]

Absolutely gorgeous!!!!  Looks like you have put in a lot of time and thought in your place and it shows...in spades!  Simply lovely.  I wanted to sit in the middle of it and just BE. 

Do you grow food there as well? 

[Puenktchen]

Thank you! I grow a lot of food as well such as many different fruit (apples, plums, raspberries, gooseberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries etc.) and vegetables such as lettuce, swiss chard, sweetcorn, tomatoes, kale, red cabbage, kohlrabi, potatoes, sweetcorn, leeks, celeriac and so on.

Everything grows well and I don`t have many pest and disease problems.

[Beekissed]

Now THAT'S master gardening!