Gardening with Nature on the Edge of the Atlantic

Category: bumble bees

  • All Creatures

    I have always kept some ragwort in the garden since I first found the caterpillars of the Cinnabar moth and realised that I had a treasure trove on my hands. A few winters ago, I used up the last of a stack of wood in my woodpile and inadvertently uncovered dozens of moths who I…

  • A Benign But Dry September

    The nights are drawing in, but it is the changes in the wildlife that to me are the signal that winter is on the way. The goldfinches have started to return to the garden and I do hope that I have as large a flock as last year. The slugs are less evident although by…

  • December Blossoms

    I always think that it is a minor miracle that I can find enough flowers in the garden to decorate the house for Christmas. I divide the sources into three categories – those shrubs that usually flower during the winter such as Camellia, Correa and Viburnum, those summer plants that keep producing one or two…

  • Animal Helpers

    Autumn has finally arrived. The wind is now from the north west and is bitterly cold. The dramatic sunrises and sunsets almost make up for the chill, but there are no more relaxing tea breaks in the warm sunshine as I go about my gardening chores. This month I am taking advantage of the offerings…