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Oh, come on.......you MUST remember The Herb Garden in the 70's? Great kiddies programme, that. Sage, the Owl and....'I'm a very friendly Lion called Parsley', not to mention Dillon the Dog. Oh, I just did.
Which leads me very nicely on to the central thrust of my post. I need your help, o knowledgeable ones. I have space (very, very small) in my front wall for some herbs. Therefore - could anybody please advise me as to which herbs are most beneficial to our wildlife? Bonus points for ones which are also aromatic and jolly pretty.
I thank you. Colin.
P.S. I ache like I've mud-wrestled a Bison for two hours. I dug my battlefield garden over today. Hoiked out enough masonary to build myself a bridge, ripped out encroaching lawn and then added bags of sharp sand, compost and farmyard manure. Dug this lot in and then became best buddys with my rake. I don't think I'll ever get a 'fine tilth' out of my border, but I did what I could and will scatter seed with carefree abandon tomorrow. Unless it pees down.
On earth there is no heaven, but there are pieces of it - Jules Renard
Hi Corriepaw
We have lavender and rosemary growing as a low hedge in our back garden, we always have lots and lots of bees because of it. I have other herbs growing too in an old butler sink in the garden (sage, thyme, coriander, chives) but they don't attract as many bees as the lavender and rosemary.
Regards
Kerry
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kezmo6310/
Susan H said: Lavender every time for me, but my English Lavender has not survived the winter this year. Littleowl - I saw the very first episode of Bill and Ben. I dashed home from infant school to see it on our first ever TV.
Lavender every time for me, but my English Lavender has not survived the winter this year.
Littleowl - I saw the very first episode of Bill and Ben. I dashed home from infant school to see it on our first ever TV.
Hi Sparrow,
I think I was watching this in the early 70's.
Littleowl
Up against a wall we have rosemary - insects love the flowers, and I love the herb for cooking!
If its a planting pocket in a wall my preference would be marjoram. We have it here in a baked border at the front, and in Norfolk had clumps of it on a sandstone rockery. There it attracted myriad bugs, butterflies & moths. Small coppers, skippers & bramble shoot moths in particular were partial to it! (& Its also nice chopped into a salad!) It was quite low growing but vigorous and bombproof .
For a really small pocket at risk of regular drying out a creeping thyme would offer insect friendly flowers and a fighting chance of surviving dry conditions.
Laurence
If you fancy Rosemary have a look at these (http://www.laurelfarmherbs.co.uk/herbcatalogue/index.php?famid=37&lang=eng), some would be ideal to cascade down a wall. Of all the herbs in my garden Rosemary comes up tops (for insects) followed by thyme and Marjoram. All three would be ideal to grow on a wall as they are all drought hardy and as long as you choose the right varieties, none of them will grow too large.
Build it and they will come.
I leave my oregano to bloom and the bees love it.
Thyme is good too as the bees not only drink the flowers they use the plant to clean themselves of varroa.
Thyme essence is used by beekeepers as a varroa treatment.
I am planting a bank of it this year amongst the heather.
Everybody!!
Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou - such a lot of great advice. Sites like this are ace because they are full of people like you who are eager to share knowledge and tips, all for the benefit of our wildlife. Sorry about the tardiness of the reply, but I haven't been online. Instead, I've been working 370 hours a week at the hospital in order to cultivate my ulcer and enhance my nervous facial twitch. thank God I now have a few days off.
Thanks again, folks.
Colin xx
Corriepaw said: Oh, come on.......you MUST remember The Herb Garden in the 70's? Great kiddies programme, that. Sage, the Owl and....'I'm a very friendly Lion called Parsley', not to mention Dillon the Dog. Oh, I just did.
]I've just taken a trip down "Memory Lane" - The Herbs was one of the programmes I enjoyed watching with our two sons, and by Googling, I came across this site: http://www.davethewave.co.uk/theherbs/
Hi Badgerbread,
Of course! How could I mix up Dill the dog with Dillon from the very trippy Magic Roundabout? Unforgiveable. Next, I'll be saying that Gabriel the Toad from Bagpuss made a guest appearance on Mr. Benn.