On Tuesday I glanced out of the window and spied a glorious pink Bee Orchid poking its head through the unkempt grass of the picnic area below the centre! We have only ever seen them in one little worn patch along the river wall and so this specimen must have grown here from seed rather than laying dormant for the last ten years as the soil was not even here then!
I hastily erected a wire cage around it to protect it from our nocturnal Rabbits (the leaves were alreadt quite munched) and an accidental foot!
So now it looks like some ferocious beast is being kept back from a terrified public but at least it will survive to set seed and multiply. Interestingly I began to wonder on how many occasions this plant had tried to flower here and has been enthusiastically mowed down as leaves before the flower spike has started to appear? Mowing has been a little lax of late in the public areas but without this lull this beautiful plant would not have had a chance to reveal itself.
As such I persuaded Bob Fraser to engage in some creative mowing in the picnic area today leaving islands of Daisies, Black Meddick, whispy grasses and some Ox Eyes too and there is no reason why you too cannot create these little green reserves in your own garden where the grasses grow tall, wild flowers miraculously appear and insects abound.
So forget those straight mowed lines and immaculate edges, add some curvy bits and create a richer wilder garden for you and everything living in it...
9-6-16