Can You Change Your Gardening Maintenance to Help Our Butterflies?

Jack Straw · Jul 6, 2017

Last year saw the biggest decline in butterfly numbers for many years. A lot of this is due to loss of habitat amongst other factors. Do you mow your grass to death each week? Could you leave some uncut all summer and cut it once a year in the autumn? When you buy plants for your garden, do you consider their value to insects?
This is a very interesting article, with Brighton featuring towards the end. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/...disappearing-urban-butterfly?CMP=share_btn_tw

Weststander · Jul 6, 2017

I do all I can, it's rewarding.

In our gardens I have mini meadows in several places, seeded with perennial, biannual and annual native plants to chalk downland, as well as other crucial plants such as Viper's Bugloss, Birds Foot Trefoil, Lavender, Salvia, Hyssop and Verbena. Stinging Nettles for caterpillars.

I don't scythe the mini meadows down until early autumn.

The benefits are amazing. So many types of bee, butterfly, moth, dragonfly, damsel fly and even bats. All in a Brighton suburb.

Radio 4 covered this the other day. In Sweden, farmers don't cut clover and grasses down until October, meaning butterflies thrive.

The Large One · Jul 6, 2017

Is this the kind of thing where the wild flowers growing at Preston Park are a help to them?

When I lived in the suburbs, we had a community garden (it's still going strong) and we let nature do it business. One part of the garden wasn't filled in with compost when the council built it, they put down clay. We put wild flower bombs in there, and it's gone mad with colour. On the back of that, bees, butterflies and all kind of wildlife have been attracted to the environment.

Weststander · Jul 6, 2017

Jack Straw said:
Last year saw the biggest decline in butterfly numbers for many years. A lot of this is due to loss of habitat amongst other factors. Do you mow your grass to death each week? Could you leave some uncut all summer and cut it once a year in the autumn? When you buy plants for your garden, do you consider their value to insects?
This is a very interesting article, with Brighton featuring towards the end. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/...disappearing-urban-butterfly?CMP=share_btn_tw

Thank you for passing on that interesting article. People like that teacher at Stringer are amazing.

It crossed my mind about planting some wild flower plugs in our verge, but BHCC blitz it right down almost to soil level a few times each summer, 'scalping' as the article mentions.

Weststander · Jul 6, 2017

The Large One said:
Is this the kind of thing where the wild flowers growing at Preston Park are a help to them?

When I lived in the suburbs, we had a community garden (it's still going strong) and we let nature do it business. One part of the garden wasn't filled in with compost when the council built it, they put down clay. We put wild flower bombs in there, and it's gone mad with colour. On the back of that, bees, butterflies and all kind of wildlife have been attracted to the environment.

The mini meadows of native annuals on the old Preston Park bowling greens do contribute and give a splash of colour.

Wardy's twin · Jul 6, 2017

I try to have some plants that attract butterflies but have noticed the decline. I have 3 buddleias and there used to be painted ladies/peacocks/red admirals aplenty but not this year.

Weststander · Jul 6, 2017

View attachment 86932

One of many visitors feasting in our front garden last week.

Big G · Jul 6, 2017

Just more evidence of mankind fvucking up the environment. We've pretty much fvcked the rain forests, jungles, normal forests, the country side, rivers and now mankinds plastic waste is now senselessly killing whales and other sea creatures.
Always plant stuff to help Bee's and Butterflies.

Jack Straw · Jul 6, 2017

The Large One said:
Is this the kind of thing where the wild flowers growing at Preston Park are a help to them?

The bowling green areas where wild flowers have been sown are non-native. They provide nectar for insects but not food for caterpillars. They do make a splash of colour though.
To see areas which have been built to replicate downland and planted with native wild flowers, there are sites at Roedean Old 9-Hole Golf Course, across the road from the currently used mini-golf course, Swanborough Flats in Whitehawk, below the all-weather pitches in East Brighton Park, and the entrance to Woodingdean Bowling Green. There are other small banks all over the city, but these aforementioned ones are the biggest and best.
Apart from hard surfaces, the most sterile garden surface is regularly mown grass!

Weststander · Jul 6, 2017

Wardy's twin said:
I try to have some plants that attract butterflies but have noticed the decline. I have 3 buddleias and there used to be painted ladies/peacocks/red admirals aplenty but not this year.

If you live in a breezy place, butterflies struggle.

Loads of much lower lying plants on this list that might help:

http://butterfly-conservation.org/files/100-best-butterfly-nectar-plants.pdf

Jack Straw · Jul 6, 2017

Weststander said:
View attachment 86932

One of many visitors feasting in our front garden last week.

Link doesn't work

The Large One · Jul 6, 2017

I remember when the Green Party were in charge (as in mentioned in the article) that when the side verges and central verges along Lewes Road were left unmown, some on here would oh-so-knowledgably scream and howl blue murder about creating an ugly environment, of penny-pinching, of not caring for the aesthetic look of the city etc.

Actually, it's this kind of thing which Jack Straw has now highlighted. Pity that (according to these posts) the council has reverted to mowing everything back again - more expensive, and not so good for the environment.

edna krabappel · Jul 6, 2017

They seem to go for the lavender in my garden.

On another note, I planted a load of French marigolds in a freshly dug bed recently, and all of a sudden I seem to have the world's baby slug population descending on my garden, the little *******s. Still, rather them get munched than the rather nice hydrangea alongside them, I suppose.

Weststander · Jul 6, 2017

Jack Straw said:
The bowling green areas where wild flowers have been sown are non-native. They provide nectar for insects but not food for caterpillars. They do make a splash of colour though.

Preston Park bowling greens - several reports and photos stated that the meadows included common poppies, cornflowers and vipers bugloss, which arc very much native and provide nectar.

https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/58a17c18e4b09b65848eb16e/6008575

Perhaps it was a mix of native and non-natives?

Weststander · Jul 6, 2017

Jack Straw said:
Link doesn't work

It still does from mine bizarrely. Just a nice close up of a Bumblebee with an orange-red bottom on our Lavender last week.

It's a Apple photo - does that cause a problem on your device?

Changing the subject, what a nice thread away from football and politics

. Nice to chat with like minded people.

Jack Straw · Jul 6, 2017

The Large One said:
I remember when the Green Party were in charge (as in mentioned in the article) that when the side verges and central verges along Lewes Road were left unmown, some on here would oh-so-knowledgably scream and howl blue murder about creating an ugly environment, of penny-pinching, of not caring for the aesthetic look of the city etc.

Actually, it's this kind of thing which Jack Straw has now highlighted. Pity that (according to these posts) the council has reverted to mowing everything back again - more expensive, and not so good for the environment.

Having been involved in the maintenance of the City's verges until I retired a year ago, the most complaints we used to have were because the grass on the verges outside peoples' houses was a few inches long. Although cutting back on verge mowing was suggested as a budget cut, it was deemed as political suicide because the majority of residents wanted their verges to look like a bowling green and by leaving them long would be a vote loser.
I really for the life of me can not understand why anyone could get so hot under the collar because a bit of grass is a few inches longer than something thinks it should be. We obviously had to be sympathetic when discussing this with irate members of the public, but you can imagine the discussion we had after the phone had been put down!
The good news is that we stopped mowing several previously regularly mown areas in parks and they are now alive with butterflies. Places like Saltdean Oval East Bank, the south bank at Woodingdean Cemetery, the west bank of Rottingdean Field, Roedean Old 9-Hole are, the perimeter of Preston Park and lots of other areas I've forgotten.
I think more people understand the importance of insect habitat now-a-days. It was older people who moaned about the verges. I believe that since every school in the city now has a wildlife area, and children are taught how valuable these type of habitats are, the generations of moaners are dying off and the conveyor belt of humanity is now producing people that are on board with the value of diversity in the garden and in public spaces in the city.
Blimey. That's a long post from me?

Weststander · Jul 6, 2017

The Large One said:
I remember when the Green Party were in charge (as in mentioned in the article) that when the side verges and central verges along Lewes Road were left unmown, some on here would oh-so-knowledgably scream and howl blue murder about creating an ugly environment, of penny-pinching, of not caring for the aesthetic look of the city etc.

Actually, it's this kind of thing which Jack Straw has now highlighted. Pity that (according to these posts) the council has reverted to mowing everything back again - more expensive, and not so good for the environment.

Petrolheads moaned.

I liked it. Millions of Oxeye Daises and more benefitting bugs.

Weststander · Jul 6, 2017

Jack Straw said:
Having been involved in the maintenance of the City's verges until I retired a year ago, the most complaints we used to have was because the grass on the verges outside peoples' houses were a few inches long. Although cutting back on verge mowing was suggested as a budget cut, it was deemed as political suicide because the majority of residents wanted their verges to look like a bowling green and by leaving them long would be a vote loser.
I really for the life of me can not understand why anyone could get so hot under the collar because a bit of grass is a few inches longer than something thinks it should be. We obviously had to be sympathetic when discussing this with irate members of the public, but you can imagine the discussion we had after the phone had been put down!
The good news is that we stopped mowing several previously regularly mown areas in parks and they are now alive with butterflies. Places like Saltdean Oval East Bank, the south bank at Woodingdean Cemetery, the west bank of Rottingdean Field, the perimeter of Preston Park and lots of other areas I've forgotten.
I think more people understand the importance of insect habitat now-a-days. It was older people who moaned about the verges. I believe that since every school in the city now has a wildlife area, and are taught how valuable these type of habitats are, the generations of moaners are dying off and the conveyor belt of humanity is now producing people that are on board with the value of diversity in the garden and in public spaces in the city.
Blimey. That's a long post from me?

Despite living in the Brighton area all my life, I only discovered the glasshouses selling plants behind Stanmer House last year.

There's a section in one of them of plugs and larger of chalk downland native plants, incredibly cheap. Apparently their's an older guy working there who's made it his cause celebre. I've been back a few times to buy.

What a lovely guy, his work is having a quiet impact.

Jack Straw · Jul 6, 2017

Weststander said:
Preston Park bowling greens - several reports and photos stated that the meadows included common poppies, cornflowers and vipers bugloss, which arc very much native and provide nectar.

https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/58a17c18e4b09b65848eb16e/6008575

Perhaps it was a mix of native and non-natives?

The seed was purchased from a British Supplier, but they get it from Lyon in France. Hence they're not actual native plants going by their provenance. I was offered the opportunity to go and see the fields where the seed is produced, but I can't remember why I didn't go. It may have been that I'd have missed an Albion match?!!

Jack Straw · Jul 6, 2017

Weststander said:
It still does from mine bizarrely. Just a nice close up of a Bumblebee with an orange-red bottom on our Lavender last week.

It's a Apple photo - does that cause a problem on your device?

Changing the subject, what a nice thread away from football and politics . Nice to chat with like minded people.

Do you post your sightings on the Sussex Butterfly Conservation web site by any chance?

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