Around the Garden - Arrival of spring

The Horticultural Society give us an insight into the arrival of spring in our gardens

In the garden, one of the first signs of spring is the arrival of bulbs, such as crocuses, daffodils and chionodoxas. Many of our native woodland plants, such as primula, now flower much earlier - often under trees before they form a thick canopy of leaves. Other attractive early flowering plants include hellebores and pulmonaria.

Several butterflies will already have been on warm days but those you may now see in greater numbers are Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood and Brimstone, the bright yellow colour of which may well have given the general name “butterfly” to the whole species. The Peacocks and Small Tortoiseshells will need a patch of nettles to lay their eggs; the caterpillars will also eat the leaves but the adults can obtain nectar from a wide variety of flowers. Speckled Woods, on the other hand, are rarely seen on flowers. They mostly feed on honeydew produced by aphids and their eggs and caterpillars are to be found on grasses.

Various hoverflies and bumble bees will be evident now, the adult hoverflies feeding on pollen and nectar while their larvae eat a wide range of foods, some clearing up decaying plant material in the soil or in ponds and streams, others munching on aphids, thrips and other plant sucking insects. You may notice large bumblebees flying low in an apparently random fashion; they are the queens, ready to start a nest and looking for suitable nooks and crannies.

At the time of the garden food chain, slow worms, frogs and toads, birds and hedgehogs will now be in evidence so make sure to leave room for them - they will all be on your side, enjoying the increasing supply of aphids, slugs and snails as their diet.

Water is a necessity for all wildlife. If you have a birdbath, make sure to keep it topped up and clean. If you don’t have room for a pond, an old washing up bowl will make an attractive feature if you sink it halfway into the ground in a quiet, shady spot. A large stone placed in it is needed to help the creatures climb out and, for your own pleasure, there are some very pretty miniature water lillies available now.

This page is brought to you by the Southwater Horticultural Society. Contact us by email -southwaterhs@yahoo.com - or like us on Facebook!

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