Stinging Nettles are a bit of a double edged sword in a garden. They can take over and once you have them then, well, you have them but in the right spot they are a great boon for wildlife of all sorts as well as having culinary, dye and even string making uses.
When I dug up my little plot on Wednesday to plant my Broad Beans and Beetroot in I had to remove a good tangle of tuberous Nettle roots most of which I put in my compost. However, I have also planted some in a big flower pot so that they can still grow and attract insects by the dozen.
They tend to flop over if grown in isolation like this so make a stick and string frame in the pot to support them as they grow but you will need to keep them watered too!
In full flower! They can get to about 1.5m high.
I also have a patch of Nettles that are just fine where they are and they are already coming along just nicely and I hope to have Peacock butterfly caterpillars on them at some stage this spring. Nettlebugs will mysteriously appear and the flowers will attract hoverflies and some of the smaller bees.
My new patch
Peacock catarpillers and butterfly
Nettlebugs - Mark Hart
Come the autumn do not cut the stems back but leave them so that Goldfinches can find the seed and small birds like Wrens and Tits will forage in the dried heads for hibernating insects.
Wrens loving poking about for insects - David Dent
Come the following spring you can cut them down and use the stems in you new bug and bee boxes so a versatile and wondrous plant to have in your garden at all times!
Click here for my earlier post as to what to do! https://community.rspb.org.uk/placestovisit/rainhammarshes/b/rainhammarshes-blog/posts/things-to-do-in-the-garden-howard-s-simple-bee-bug-home-and-hoverquarium
Howard Vaughan, Information Officer