Hard landscaping finished

A great day yesterday when the hard landscaping was finished. Once the bench is secure, we can take the fencing down and the area will be open to the public. Now all it needs is the finishing touches: more hedge to be planted, plants to be put in the new raised bed and the water butt to be fixed! Roll on next Thursday when some of this will be completed...

Second raised bed built

The second raised bed has been made out of wooden roundels and is now nearly finished. It is in a fairly shady and dry situation, so we will be planting it up with shade-tolerant plants which can withstand periods of dry weather. We are hoping to grow plants that will be beneficial to insects and other minibeasts and we have some night scented plants which attract moths.

The bog we planted last week is now drying out after a very wet February. With the liner underneath it should stay damp throughout the summer but we may need to top it up from the lake if we have a drought.

Bogged down

We all got rather wet and muddy on Saturday when it was time to plant the bog area of the wildlife garden. We were joined by a group of 12-13 year olds who helped us plant a range of water-loving plants like water avens, meadowsweet, purple loosestrife, ragged robin and rushes.

Although we put boards down to protect the surrounding grass, by the time we had finished for the afternoon, it wasn't just the bog that looked a bit of a quagmire! We weren't too worried though as grass recovers quickly.

The bog is adjacent to the pond and provides shelter and cover for a range of animals such as frogs which might for example, use our log pile to hibernate under.

Volunteers back for more.

Volunteers arrived yesterday to spend another day working on the garden. You would forgive the group for being less enthusiastic second time around but arriving in the rain and the wind they showed no signs of flaking or disengagement. Their keenness was inspiring and they portrayed admirable enthusiasm as they knuckled down to get the jobs done. The main objective of the day was to add more plants in the raised beds, the plants were carried into the garden and their suitable spot on the raised bed was found, then the planting begun. Vast numbers of plants added meant that before our very eyes appeared a rippled green sea of foliage with waves of purple, yellow and white. The progress was amazing and the whole team felt a huge sense of achievement as we left for lunch.

The trellis was still standing much to the relief of the volunteers who put it up! Time was spent planting Ivy next to the structure which looked really good. The plants are obviously small at the moment but with the support of the trellis and the care of the volunteers it wont be long until they act as a shield for the front garden and a safe getaway for the resident birds.

Last job on the list was to empty the bog, the next volunteers day involves planting in the pond and wet area so the water needed to be drained before doing this. It was the bog that needed emptying as it inevitably had gotten really wet during the rainy weather. It was the job of two members of the Wild in the Parks trio; Martyn and Rachel to do, not the nicest job in the world as I'm sure Martyn would agree. However it's done, so we're all ready for the next action packed day in the garden!

Garden enjoyed by hundreds of visitors

The Garden was put to the test on Saturday 17th during the Nest Box Challenge day held at Regents Park. The day was a great success partly because the visitors were able to use the Wildlife Garden and get a taste of what it’ll be like when it is all finished. The garden was home of the nature trial that made up part of the exciting day. Children and adults followed the trail that led them around the garden highlighting the fantastic things that will be on offer to them once the garden is complete. The garden looked great, being just a few days after the volunteers had given it a good tidy up, and the mild weather meant there was plenty of wildlife to see. The garden really did do us proud and possibly for the first time we realised the full potential of this wonderful space.

The event also gave people a chance to ask the team about the garden, we had crowds of people asking interesting questions, needing adivce and giving some imaginative ideas, it was great to gain such positive interest and feedback. Remember if you have any questions or ideas get in touch, we love hearing from you!

An army of volunteers

Thursday saw an army of fantastic volunteers (well 11 of them) decend on the wildlife garden to help with everything from building a new trellis to planting some of the larger plants in our flower beds. The trellis will provide a great vertical surface for wildlife friendly plants such as ivy and honeysuckle to grow up.

In London where space is always hard to come by (for both people and wildlife) it's good to look for clever ways to increase the area where you can grow plants that will attract and support wildlife. Planting up vertical surfaces and putting a green roof on our shed are just two of the methods we're trying in the wildlife garden. Please let us know if you have any other space saving ideas that have worked for you.

Snow in the garden!

Another week for the wildlife garden and all seems to be holding up well, despite the garden experiencing its first snow. The turf is looking a bit bumpy but unfortunately it was really too wet when it was laid. However like the hedge, you need to get turf down quite quickly once it has been dug up so the roots don't dry out. Later when the ground is dryer in the spring, we will lift the uneven areas of turf and put some soil underneath to flatten it out.

Planting hedges

Volunteers planting the privet hedge would have found it easier if the ground wasn't quite so wet! However the hedge plants we ordered were bare-rooted which meant they needed to be planted straight away. Fortunately the soil wasn't too saturated so the roots won't drown. The plants should settle in well this spring.

Privets aren't the best of hedges for wildlife. Our other hedge consists of hawthorn and holly which are both excellent for attracting wildlife but as privet is such a common hedge plant we thought we would plant one just to show how it can be improved for wildlife. We will be planting species such as honeysuckle in the hedge which will make it more interesting to look at as well as provide more homes and food for wildlife.

How the sedum looks on the shed roof

Exciting week for the wildlife garden

Not only were 2 hedges planted, the turf laid and some plants put into the front garden, but the shed also arrived. The shed roof is topped with sedums and creates a wildlife habitat even when the ground below has been concreted over. The only care you have to give the sedums is an initial soaking and then an occasional watering if there is a really dry period.

The planting was carried out by volunteers and some young people from Rise Phoenix. One hedge planted was a hawthorn and holly mix, both of which provide berries for birds and are also good species for invertebrates to live in. The other is a privet hedge - this isn't so wildlife-friendly but we are going to improve it for wildlife by growing climbers such as honeysuckle through it. The front garden was planted with low growing plants that can survive in shade and also under a car.

Garden activities in January

We are looking forward to a month of activity in the wildlife garden. We will be planting some more hedge and laying some turf in the wildlife garden area. A small area of this grass will be allowed to grow long. This is really important for lots of insects including several species of butterfly which lay their eggs in long grass and their caterpillars feed on it too. The patch of long grass needn't be large nor take up too much valuable lawn area in order to provide some important space for wildlife.

Also in January, we are looking forward to the installation of our green-roofed shed. For people who don't have much space to garden, roofs are another place to think about using for this purpose. There are many ways of doing this and a whole wealth of information is on the web about how you might go about it.

Next steps on the wildlife garden

The pond is now full of water and all that is left to do on its construction is to bank the edges and cover the liner. It is important that wildlife friendly ponds have at least one shallow side allowing frogs and other animals to exit more easily. Our pond has a couple of ledges in it too which will be used for planting and will also make great homes for animals especially when we have put in a few small stone piles to create hidey-holes.

Volunteers have been planting bulbs under the trees. Spring bulbs are an early nectar source for emerging bees but most of them need to planted in autumn time for the best results.

We have also put in some good leaf compost on our newly dug beds which will give the plants a good head start when we plant them in the spring. Hopefully we will have a few frosts over the winter which will break the soil down, making it more crumbly and easier to work with next year.

Early wildlife sightings in the garden

The last couple of weeks have been really busy in the wildlife garden with features such as our raised nectar-bed taking shape and the pond being dug out and lined.

The front garden is also taking shape, which is designed to show that if you have a car you can park it in front of your house without the need for a concrete drive. Front gardens are disappearing from urban areas at an alarming rate which means there are fewer places for wildlife to shelter and feed. Hard surfaces on front drives can also contribute to flash flooding, which has hit the news in London in recent months with drains and sewers not able to cope with all the rain water run-off.

We have had a couple of unusual sightings in the garden over the last couple of weeks as well. Firstly we saw a Pipistrelle bat flying around the front garden area at around 11am one warm morning. It's unusual to see a bat fly at that time of day and it's possible it had been disturbed from a roost elsewhere and was looking for a new spot to tuck into for the winter. We have also had sightings of a male Pheasant in the garden which is pretty unusual for Regent's Park. Perhaps word has got out that there's an exciting new place for wildlife in the heart of London!

School classes have been learning about some of the declining wildlife in London. Pupils from St Joseph's RC School have drawn up ideas for planting plans to attract bees and some colourful posters to show what they have learnt.

The garden begins!

Well the Regent's Park community wildlife garden is finally underway! Our contractors have begun to lay the paths that will eventually lead people through the garden and we have had our first group of volunteers in, helping to build a loggery for stag beetles and to plant a wildlife friendly hedge in the front garden area.

Over the coming months the garden will be built and planted with help from a large number of people from the local community. The aim is that visitors to the garden will come across loads of simple ideas to attract and support wildlife, which they can take away and use at home.

We'll use this blog to keep you up to date with what is happening during the garden's construction and to let you know how you can get involved. If you want to find out more then just give us an e-mail.