It is cool to care for nature

Food

To start the project I concentrated on:
Creating a native wild flower meadow which would attract all kinds of insects

Planting an area of closely-spaced bushes and shrubs, all producing fruits, berries, seeds and nuts.

Planting a dense copse of native trees, thereby attracting lots of insects.

Growing and planting perennial and annual, mainly native plants with seed and nectar production in mind.

The meadow is managed by grazing by 5/6 native Dartmoor ponies for 6 weeks in the autumn, before it gets too wet. This prevents the grass becoming too dominant and gives wildflowers a chance to establish themselves.
After several years of this regime, the increase in wild flowers has been quite spectacular. Knapweed especially grows in profusion, attracting a 'charm' of 60 + goldfinches every autumn. The grass is now less dense and more interesting species appear each year

The copses need less attention as I put a 'circle' of carpet around each tree at planting to keep the grass from smothering the young trees and shrubs. Amongst the native plants that are very popular with the birds and bees here are teasels and ramanas rose (rosa rugosa). Goldfinches love groundsel and dandelion seeds!