Another month has flown by and of course August is hay making time for farmers. It is also hay making time for gardeners who have left some of their lawn to form mini meadows. Instead of setting forth with a sythe, Matt the gardener, set forth with his strimmer before using his lawn mower. He had strict intructions to be careful near the one and only orchid that I have, that will be left to die down naturally in the hope that it will appear again next spring. My six this week are all of the meadow.
The “meadow” has been battered by wind and rain recently so is looking worse for wear, definitely needs cutting!
All the flowers have stopped flowering and I can see that the moles have been busy while the grass and flowers have been growing.
Short back and sides, the grass will soon green up again, but I have been reminded that the Chinese Ginger Jar hasn’t been clipped this year yet, another job to do!
Most of the mole hills are close to the path that is cut through the long grass, not sure why. I’m hoping that maybe the orchid will seed into the earth that the mole has brought up to the surface, wishful thinking maybe.
The orchid is looking very lonely now with just rusty robin for company. Hopefully any seed will mature and spread around.
That’s it for this week, another sunny day to encourage me to get out and do more gardening. If you want to see more gardens from around the world, then do pop over to Jim at Garden Ruminations.
Matt has done a good job there, fingers crossed for your orchid to spread its seed around!
Yes, he has, hasn’t he Gill, I’m hoping that the orchid will set seed, although I never saw any bees on it!
Very good idea to leave mini meadows for biodiversity. The wildlife thanks you!
I’ve done this for over 10 years now Fred and it brings in different bees, insects and butterflies. The two butterflies that I have noticed are Meadow Browns and Ringlets, both of which lay their eggs on long grass.
Bravo Matt!
I agree Graeme!
Our grass was cut today also, Pauline. It wasn’t a meadow though, just grass and I note that you’ve been having some rough weather too. I’m just happy to see the grass looking nice and short again, the weather has kept the mower undercover for several weeks! You must have enjoyed your meadow flowers while they were there, but more than likely, next year they will be even better. Let’s hope your orchid does set seed and gives you many more.
I have enjoyed the meadow flowers Catherine, more and more come each year, its amazing what pops up in your lawn as long as you don’t use weedkiller! I don’t know where the orchid came from, probably seed blown in by the wind and then I was cutting it off each year as I didn’t know it was there!
I’m pleased to see the orchid survived, it would be lovely if it did seed itself around a bit.
So am I Helen, I do hope it increases as well as setting seed, greedy I know!
The moles seem to have a preference for the meadow and I am wondering why that is Pauline? Maybe just less disturbance though I have to say ‘my moles’ seem not to be so selective!
More mole hills have popped up overnight Denise, they have been having a wonderful time while the grass and flowers were long and there wasn’t a lawn mower to disturb them!
I like it that you have named your topiary, what plant is it?
Thanks Noelle, I have so many box balls and cubes, I decided to have something different in such a prominent position. The plant is a golden box, when I eventually trim it back it will be dark green once more, but the new growth is golden.
More vegetation means more photosynthesis which means more sugars getting fed back to the soil fauna, fungi and micro-organisms, which supports more worms, which supports more moles. Less disturbance and compaction will help too.
Wow Jim, I wasn’t expecting all that, many thanks for the science, makes sense now that you mention it.
Cheers to the orchid setting seed! It’s a lovely space, I can only imagine what Spring will bring.
The orchid is looking rather lonely Tracy, now that all the other flowers and tall grass have been cut, but hopefully it will return next spring, it will be a real bonus if it sets seed!
It reminds me of how long it took to cut the grass here when we first moved in, when it was almost all grass – the complete opposite now though! How long did it take Matt to do it all?
It usually takes Matt 3/4hr to cut the grass Cathy, it took him quite a bit longer when the meadow was due for its haircut. It used to take the under gardener just 20 mins when we had the ride on!
It sounds like you’ve had quite a busy time with your garden, especially balancing hay-making and caring for your precious orchid! I hope it reappears next spring—such a delicate beauty to protect. Moles can be such a nuisance, but your optimism about them helping the orchid spread is lovely. Wishing you luck with all the tasks ahead, and I look forward to hearing how your garden evolves. Sunny days are the best motivator to get out and enjoy the garden, aren’t they?
Nice to hear from you Ilze! I’m hoping that the orchid will reappear next spring and also that it will increase! So far I haven’t seen any seed forming but you never know, some might form eventually.I certainly appreciate sunny days, we have a few forecast for this week so hopefully I will get quite a bit of gardening done.