Extreme Gardening

Tag: butterflies

  • 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…

  • New Beginnings

    I have a love-hate relationship with the Inula Hookeri which dominates whatever part of the garden it inhabits. Its flower is interesting from the moment it appears, but it spreads rapidly and will quickly push out anything growing near it. Each winter I have the arduous task of containing it, muttering under my breath as…

  • Nature’s Way

    22 July At this time of the year the air around these two willow trees is humming with the sound of thousands of swarming wasps. They are attracted to a translucent sticky substance called honeydew which also drops onto the leaves of the hydrangea and hawthorn trees. This honeydew is created by large willow bark…