Corona Wildlife Diary: Day Seventy-nine

The uplifting role that wildlife plays in our lives becomes more vital than ever. So, for my own sanity as much as anything, I’m going to keep a daily diary of what I find around my garden. Post your pictures on the ‘Sussex Wildlife Trust Nature Table’ page.

Day Seventy-nine.

Well it looks like we're in for some 'unsettled' weather in June. Then again, it couldn't have got much more 'settled' than May - the sunniest calendar month on record with 266 hours of sunshine.

Regular readers will recall my account of how I transformed my front lawn into a mini wildflower meadow many years ago (see Day Twenty-seven here). It's been great that some people read that blog and were inspired to do the same.

My front garden has been full of life over the past few weeks, so I thought I'd give you a quick update on how it's looking and some of my favourite plants in the meadow this year.

Back in April the front meadow looked like this...

...but now it's bloomed into this

The lovely thing about the meadow is it seems to change each year. There seems to be more structure to it this year and there's also a bare area which is perfect for me to lie in. It's been nice to get down to ground level and have a proper root around amongst the plants.

The Ox-eye Daisies have dominated for the past two years. Not that I'm complaining because they look fabulous. They seem a bit more restrained this year.

You can read all about them in this blog written by my colleague James here.

Lovely to see the beautiful colours of the Red Clover. Apparently the flowers, when made into a syrup, are good at relieving whooping cough. I wonder if they're any good at relieving Covid-19? Oh, and it says in my book that the leaves can 'ward off witches and warlocks'. So that probably explains why I haven't seen either 'round here for a while.

One of my favourite meadow plants is also one of our commonest Ribwort Plantain. I don't know why but their flowered heads always look a bit sci-fi to me. Such amazing intricate structures.

There's nothing too flashy about Sorrel but apparently Henry VIII used to love eating it and David Bowie sang a song about it (here)

I've really been appreciating the Quaking Grass in the meadow this year. Such a beautiful plant and I love it even more now I've found out that an old folk-name for it is 'Doddering Dickies' which is what I'll be calling it from now on.

The Bird's-foot Trefoil has really taken hold over the past couple of years. It's great for bees and the foodplant for the Common Blue butterfly and the Six-spot Burnet Moth both of which add more colour to the meadow in the summer.

Oh, and there's even a Common Spotted Orchid in there too.

I've really appreciated the front meadow during the lockdown. I could tell you 50 stories about some of the amazing insects I have found here - I'll post some photos next week. What you can't appreciate from the photos is the wonderful smell and the noise. This front garden has been buzzing for the past eleven weeks - it's such a great source of nectar for so many insects. 

Two days ago I was working at the computer when I saw a truck pull up outside my house and a young fella got out in a hi-vis vest and rang our doorbell. We haven't had many unexpected visitors over the past few months. I opened the door and he said he was a gardener. He had been passing and noticed my front lawn was 'getting a bit long' and wanted to know if I would like to pay him to cut it for me. After 15 minutes of me lecturing him on how much life my lawn was supporting and why neatly mown lawns are a 'waste of the planet' he probably realised that I wasn't a potential customer.

Front Meadow plant list: Crested Dog's-tail, Wild Carrot, Chickweed, Common Spotted Orchid, Sweet Vernal Grass, Cock's-foot, Doddering Dickies, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Meadow Vetchling, Smooth Tare, Common Sorrel, Yellow Rattle, Soft Brome, Ox-eye Daisy, Evening Primrose, Cat's-ear, Ribwort Plantain, Bush Vetch, Red Clover.