HELLO

Welcome to the blog of my Wild Flower Meadow for 2015.

A bit late starting this year due to nasty persistent virus that was so difficult to eradicate.

Sadly this may be the last year I may be keeping a blog for my meadow . The house and acre of land will be going on the market in the not too distant future . The new owners may put the land back to grazing or development who knows .

I sincerely hope not.

I hope it will be as loved and nurtured as It has been since I started it in 2006

In the mean time I will endeavour to keep the blog up to date with lots of pictures showing how the plants and wildlife play out in 2015 .I hope you enjoy viewing it as much as I do producing it.

Please pop back from time to time to see the new additions and feel free to add any comments

Friday, 19 August 2011

Anglesey Wild Flower Meadow: Bird Feast

Anglesey Wild Flower Meadow: Bird Feast: Elderberry (Sambucus)
The bees have done an amazing job this summer there is an abundance of berries in the hedges surrounding the mea...

Bird Feast

Elderberry (Sambucus)

The bees have done an amazing job this summer there is an abundance of berries in the hedges surrounding the meadow. Down the right hand side I planted about 150 Rosa Rugosa five years ago. these are now about 3and a half feet and absolutely laden with very large shiny rose hips . On the other side of the meadow there are Hawthorn , Elderberry and Sloe. Planted within in the Meadow its self are crab apples and Rowen these are all just for the birds. For me there are Apples, Plums , Greengage and Quince.also within the wild hedge there are loads of Blackberries which will ripen later. Its lovely to see how it all fits together the flowers providing nectar for the insects and in return they pollinate the flowers for seed and the trees for fruit which in turn benefit the birds. The amount of Finches that are eating the flower seed is really surprising I have seen Green Finches that I have not seen in my garden for at least five years Gold Finches and Chaffinches . Something is already feasting on the Rose Hips but have not see what that is as yet.

Rowen or Mountain Ash (Sorbus)

Crab Apple ( Malus)

Rosa Rugosa

Hawthorn Tree (Crataegus Monogyna)

Sloe or Blackthorn (Prunus Spinosa)

Monday, 15 August 2011

I recently purchased this reference book . Although I have at least 10 wild flower books this one has got to be my favourite. It has helped make identifying the wild flowers in the meadow that are new to me really easy. Previously I hadn't been that accurate in my observations and the three varieties of Willowherb below I thought that they were all the same , but since having this new book I now realise they are all different

Broard-leaved Willowherb Epi
lobium montanum

Chickweed Willowherb Epilobium alsinifolium

Marsh Willowherb Epilobium palustre

A few in blue

The last few remaining blue flowers, its rather sad there won't be many more flowers to show and it will soon be time to cut the meadow and to start preparing it all for flowering next year.I have more plugs to plant and I have ordered more bulbs for planting but more about those in a later post

Harebell Campanula rotundifolia

Early Forget Me Not Mysotis ramosissima

Field forget me not Myosotis arvensis

Saturday, 13 August 2011

A Residents and visitors who share the meadow four legged creatures

Albino Hedgehog

Baby Hedgehog

These are just a few of the other animals who share the meadow as well as the wild life there are my 2 dogs Peggy the Stafford shire Bull Terrier who is 8 and 1/2 and Flossie the Japanese Akita who is almost 3 . Flossie catches voles and rats but Peggy is just too laid back and doest try to catch anything.

Toad

Short Tailed Vole

Flossie on Vole Patrol

Flossie being good

Peggy

Tuesday, 9 August 2011

Anglesey Wild Flower Meadow: Residents and visitors who share the meadow (birds...

Anglesey Wild Flower Meadow: Residents and visitors who share the meadow(birds) ...:

Residents and visitors who share the meadow (birds)

Robin Chicks

Goldfinch

Swallow

This is just a very small selection of birds that we have visiting the meadow. we also have Blackbirds . Thrushes ,Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Blue Tits, Great Tits ,Jackdaws ,Crows Magpies.During the very hard winter of 2010 we even had a Raven in the hen pen eating from the hen feeder . A Buzzard landed in the meadow tonight after either a rat or vole . The visitors that thrilled me most a couple of weeks ago was a family of Linnets 6 in all. Lovely to see their bright pink chests.They were really tucking in to the flower heads of the Ox Eye Daisies and Corn Marigolds that had gone to seed

Pheasant

Sunday, 7 August 2011

Butterflies and bees

Due to the hard winter and the very dry spring the butterflies and bees are very scarce these pictures were taken in 2010 there have just not been enough to photograph this year. Also the bumble bees are a less not as many varieties as in passed years . My own honey bees are thriving at the moment but not a lot of honey as of yet ,but as long as they make enough to make it through the winter I will be satisfied.