Gardening in a drought

Hearing in the news this week that we are in the middle of a drought crisis, I was pleased to find information from the RHS about gardening in drought conditions.  Care for the environment is a key component of the It's Your Neighbourhood assessment (and something we should all be thinking about anyway to make the best of our gardens whilst using as little water as possible.)

1. Soil cultivation is of key importance. Gardeners should dig in large amounts of garden compost, manure or other organic matter. This will help improve soil structure and in turn will help water retention and water availability to plants.
   
2. Plant new plants when they are still small. They will then develop much greater resilience by adapting to their conditions from a young age. Planting in autumn or as early as possible in spring could also be beneficial: the sooner roots can start exploring the soil for water before dry weather arrives, the better.
   
3. Mulching after planting can help limit water loss from soil. This will help the retention of moisture while plants establish. All new plants should be thoroughly watered and kept watered in the first season in dry periods, to ensure they establish well. Once established they will become more drought tolerant.
   
4. Choose the right plant for a particular garden soil. If a plant is growing in the soil most suited to its needs it will be more tolerant of varying climatic conditions. It will also be more resistant to pests and disease. RHS Plant Finder is an ideal tool for gardeners wanting to select plants suitable for their local soil conditions, and also for the particular aspect where the plants will grow.

For the full article see here

Wildlife friendly ideas

Have been reading a really handy little book:  "Gardener's World Magazine: 101 ideas for a wildlife friendly garden" bearing in mind that the It's Your Neighbourhood scheme looks for care for the environment in our planting and gardens.

Some of the best ideas are below.

You can also get lots of information from the RHS website, such as this brilliant list of "plants for pollinators"  Plants for Pollinators

WILDLIFE FRIENDLY GARDENING

Make fluff balls for nesting birds to collect nest material from.  Use natural materials in neutral colours.  Fluff, wool, thin strips of fabric, hair, down, feathers, shredded paper etc.  Make into a loose ball and hang in the garden from late winter onwards.

Solitary bees need nest sites.  Fill an open fronted untreated wooden box with short lengths of cane 7-9mm across with the holes facing outwards.  Place in a sheltered sunny spot angled slightly downwards.

Put a lacewing hibernation box in the garden to encourage this pest-eating insect.  They are available from garden centres.  Put fresh straw inside in mid-June.  In very cold snaps, bring into a cool shed and put out by March.  They like a warm sunny sheltered spot away from trees and buildings, facing away from the prevailing wind.  On top of a post or fence is ideal, near plenty of vegetation.  You can buy an attractant chemical to help them find the box.

Butterfly friendly plants: petunias, trailing lobelias, white alyssum, million bells, bur marigold, verbena x hybrid, zonal pelargoniums, twinspur.

Give butterflies a drink.  They like a shallow saucer of muddy water in a sunny spot, with flat dark stones nearby for warming in the sun.  Adding sugar or a very small amount of animal manure to the water adds extra nutrition.

Make a wood pile for bugs.  Use fresh logs still with the bark.  Dig a trench so that some of the logs are buried.  Allow to rot naturally and add new logs on top as necessary.

To keep ponds clear of algae naturally, use barley straw.  Use 50g of fresh barley straw per sqm of pond surface.  Net loosely into a ball and float on the pond surface.  Start in early spring before algae takes hold.  Once working (6 weeks) the effect should last several months).

WILDLIFE FRIENDLY PLANTS (FOR HOT DRY SITES)

Hebes

Lavenders

Wallflowers

Honesty

Sunflowers

Heliotropes

Calendula (pot marigold)

Aliums

Scabious

Bergamot

Sea holly (Erygnium)

Black-eyed Susan – rudbeckia fulgida

Michaelmas daisies

An old photograph of Well Street...

Well Street Snowman and Snowdog!

Snow business!

Well Street was blanketed in snow overnight last night and we all woke up to a pristine sparkling wonderland. 

Aware that snow can be as much of a danger as a delight, as one or two residents began clearing their paths and the pavement outside their homes, more joined in and before long (with the aid of Sue's biscuits) the entire pavement was cleared on the eastern side of the street.  Rosy stepped in with a supply of salt and now we have a safe pavement, as well as a beautiful snowy street.

A snowy Well Street

As Saturday evening came, the temperature dropped further... suddenly we were greeted with a white blanket of snow!

While this rare event was happening it was a perfect opportunity to capture the street in the snow! Here are some images!

Making a start

Rachel, Lynda and Annie braved the cold today to sort through some unused pots and troughs donated by Well Street residents.  Ably assisted by the youngest member of the group, and Alfie the puppy!  Tim and Lynda later collected yet more pots and tubs which will be used in some of the communal areas that we hope to look after.

It was really inspiring to see how, in such a short time, our project has strengthened links between neighbours as we all worked together.

Our Facebook page...

Rosy has kindly set us up with our very own Facebook page.

If you have Facebook and would like to share our progress please join the group here...

Join Facebook Page >

Latest Photos from the start of the project

Last nights committee meeting...

Last nights committee meeting was held at our chairmans house.

Lynda did a fantastic job of accommodating us all, and kindly provided some drinks and snacks.

We discussed the progression from the last meeting.

Since then, we now have a brand, this blog, a twitter account, a wonderful facebook page that Rosy has created plus we have arranged a meeting to set up our bank accounts on Saturday morning.

We also discovered than a few of the Well St residence already have some window boxes that are not being used, so in order to help those who may not be able to get their own boxes themselves, we can donate to them and help with the set up.

What we are beginning to realise is that it is not about making our gardens look pretty, but it is bringing people we may have never have got round to meeting together, and helping our community.

After-all many of us have been here for sometime, or will be, so isn't it a beautiful thought that by signing up for something like this scheme we not only get to know our neighbours, but we get to make some new friends.

There were hints of this at our Royal Wedding party back in 2011, however this was just one event. Now we have the committee the regular reminder of community spirit is truly with us.