Spring tips

With the smell of fresh cut grass in the air & daffodils popping up everywhere we know at last spring has arrived. We now have more daylight to be out in the garden & there are a few small changes we can all make that will have a real positive impact on nature.

Firstly, we are back cutting our lawns again, but please don’t go over the dandelions. We have been led to believe dandelions are only weeds that must be removed. However, they provide a feast for queen bees, who are now just emerging from hibernation. With not many flowers in bloom at this time of year, the dandelion becomes a vital food source for our pollinators. So let them be! Similarly with clover, which will appear on our lawns later in the season, avoid going over these with your lawnmower, they are beneficial flowers doing far more good than harm.

The next small change we can make is stop using slug pellets. We look at slugs and see a damaged leaf as to what they bring to the garden however they also brings us song birds & hedgehogs. Nature will hold the right balance as long as we have biodiversity. A garden that hosts native species & a diverse range of nectar & pollen rich plants will not have pest issues.

Lastly, sow a patch of wildflowers. No matter how big or small the space, get sowing. It is a quick & simple way to create a colourful haven for wildlife. You will not be disappointed. I recommend a perennial mix with plants such as; French mallow, sunflowers & phacelia.

These are some easy changes that you can make which will benefit our whole ecosystem. Why is this so important? Well, we rely on pollinators so that we can produce food crops. In fact most of the food you eat every day is thanks to the hard work of bees. However, they are disappearing at an alarming rate. The world is losing billions of bees every year due to many causes, including climate change, decreasing crop diversity, the use of chemical pesticides & major habitat loss. But there is hope! What we do in our gardens will make all the difference. So whether you have a big garden or just some pots on the windowsill, we can all help to save the bees. Let’s begin today!!!

Dan Sheahan