Hi,
Great blog about the skylark song Toby. Skylarks are, for me, a real sign of spring and I heard the song as I was opening up the reserve - just me, the lark and our Shetland sheep on the meadow - wonderful.
More subtle are the changes in the plants. In the wildlife garden the catkins on the alder tree may not be as showy as the snowdrops and crocus, but also indicate that spring is coming.
The showy catkins are the male flowers, and the small ones on the right are the female. These will have seeds late in the year which are eated by siskins. No nectar for bees as the wind spreads the pollen, but still worthy of a place in the wildlife garden. However, the pussy willow (goat willow catkins) do have nectar and are great for bumble bees, but not quite right for a garden, so are left outside the garden elsewhere on the reserve.
With spring and bees in mind, now is a good time to plan the summer display in your garden. Take inspiration from BBC TV's recent Bees, Butterflies and Blooms and ditch the formal bedding and instead sow hardy annuals such as field poppy, cosmos, sunflower and cornflower. As long as they are not the double flowered varieties, any colour is fine, and a mixture of native and other plants is perfect for the front garden (but remember not sow these in the wild). Cheap, colourful, great for wildlife, and this year it will be all fashionable! A few packets of seed sown in April is all that it takes to have bees and hoverflies all summer. Oh, and keep the bird bath full as the bees need a drink after they have had a meal.
Enjoy your garden this year,
Peter.