Banner Cross Garden Update August 2021
I have completed the removal of the Ivy from the bed (to be reffered as the rockery in future). I have planted it with some flowers and others have self seeded. Some of these I will keep and others I will replace. I also think we should remove the conifer tree and the shrubs from the rockery and plant some native shrubs and flowers.
You may have noticed some branches of the Butterfly Bush woven between the railings. This is to create a corridor for insects and some shelter. It will also act as a windbrake for the flowers. It may also stop any weedkiller spray landing on the plants when the Council spray the land in front of the railings. I intend to extend it when the Butterfly Bush is trimmed in early Spring.
I suggest that we try to fill the strip of soil on our side of the railings with a variety of hedgerow flowers that attract butterflies and other insects over a large part of the year. The dead flowers will be left over the Winter for seeds for birds and overwintering sites for insects. Any build up of leaves will be left for worms and other inhabitants of the soil.
The soil on the top garden with the gas meter is very thin. I intend to create various sections and raise the soil level using soil excavted from the strip by the railings. The sections will be planted/sown with plants growing in the same habitat.