[japagow]

I was interested in encouraging bees and other pollinators in the garden before the BBC 2 programme on Bees  Butterflies and Blooms was aired. It has inspired me to carry on clearing a shaded area of 7m2 at the bottom of the garden in preperation for sowing seeds.

I have found a number of suppliers on the internet who will sell larger quantities of mixed seed and purchased 1) a mixture for Woodland shade and 2) a mixture for clay soil. The mixtures are 20/80 grass . Grass provides food and shelter for bugs as well.

The patch of soil has been cleared of leaves and some debris and I have found a large quantity of leaf mulch to bolster the quality of the ground slightly. I have pruned some over hanging tree branches to create more light. (This involved falling off the ladder and breaking two ribs )

There is still some work left in turning the soil in places but I am looking forward to having two large seed beds with a large variety of different seeds/grasses that support bees etc.

If there are any veg growers on this side of the forum I would urge them to consider setting aside a little part of their plot for bugs when the season gets going.

[jrko]

(This involved falling off the ladder and breaking two ribs )

If there are any veg growers on this side of the forum I would urge them to consider setting aside a little part of their plot for bugs when the season gets going.

Thats dedication!!!  I'm with you totally on helping the pollinators out.  There was an enormous bumblebee loving my early dafs today - seemed happy as larry bumbling about inside the trumpets  

I have an extensive list of perennials to plant.  The RHS backed marking system is a bit scarce.  Only Taylors seem to be using it at my local 2 garden centres.  The RHS list is available here http://www.rhs.org.uk/Gardening/Sustainable-gardening/pdfs/RHS_Pollinators_PlantList

Japagow where did you get your seed from?  I want to plant a 'meadow' patch on some unused land I'll not get round to this year.

[compostqueen]

Wildflowers like poor soil so I don't think you need leafmould to enrich it

I always grow flowers amongst my veggies, along the path edges and by the hedge.  I have a lawn too which has lots of clover in it which goes unmowed when the bees are busy.  I leave dandelion flowers on as they always seem to have a bee on them 

[Trillium]

I already had 2 largish wildflower areas on my property, and last fall I collected a lot of seed from my regular flowers to throw onto the wildflower area, both annuals and perennials that would do well. In addition, I built two mason bee houses that I placed in my small orchard, and two bumblebee houses off to one side. In the property line, there was a milkweed plant growing, which I left for the monarch butterflies, and I hope there'll be more plants this year.

[trampyjoe]

From day one we wanted to set aside part of our plot for wildflowers and have a 5X3 meter area for the purpose.

Finding a decent mix for the wildflowers is proving to be difficult though as I'm quite fussy and unlike those crazy scientists at Sheffield, I really don't want any non-native wildflowers in the mix.

I like the idea of collecting seeds from local plants, we've done that before but always forget where we put the seeds (which will all change now we have the plot)!