Biodiversity

Friday 1st July 2011

Much as I may curse the goosegrass and nettles at Southlands, there is a lot to be said for letting your garden go a little bit wild. With the Harrogate in bloom judging imminent, thoughts inevitably turn to images of pristine lawns and military tidiness , I'm glad to say that Southlands isn't a bit like that. Tucked away behind a hedge screen is the wildlife garden, a mass of jungley plants doing what they do best, going wild in their own competitive race for the most light, water and food. Because they are left to their own devices, they have created a small ecosystem that is unique to the nursing home. As I walked around admiring the beautiful plants, a red kite wheeled high overhead, and I smiled to recall the rush of proud residents who wanted to tell me of the nightly visits of two hedgehogs. The garden deserves to win an award for the great joy it brings to all those who are privileged enough to use it, not because it is weeded regularly!

Harvested yesterday, sweetpeas of course, baby carrots and garden peas eaten straight from the pod. Into the gaps I sowed carrot autumn king, butterhead lettuce and bulb fennel. I had to take a picture of this beautiful plant, inula hookeri, I must have one !

"Nothing exists for itself alone, but only in relation to other forms of life"

Charles Darwin