Rebuilding the bug hotel

The first bug hotel we built on the allotment was a bit thrown together. It was done as an activity for the grandchildren when we made the woodland den a couple of years ago.  It was quite untidy, but wildlife like untidy places.  However being used as a step by an intruder to climb over the fence from the next door plot hadn't helped with its stability.

So one of this years projects was to build a new bug hotel. I was really looking forward to doing it, but  I couldn't get the grandchildren interested in helping this time. That didn't matter, I could build it to my own design. There's a lot of wildlife on our allotment, we have a big tree at the top of the plot, a hedge along two sides, plenty of debris and places for creatures to shelter and find food. So building a bug hotel may not be all that important.  But I think they look really good.

 I wanted to build the new bug home in a different place so I decided on the top of the plot behind the big sycamore tree and next to the privet hedge.  It's already a good place for wildlife with plenty of rotting logs, leaves, twigs and places for little creatures to hide. Hopefully it's also out of the way of any intruders who might want to stand on it.

foxgloves growing under the sycamore tree

Richard made a frame out of an old pallet which just fitted the space.  I collected pieces of bark and twigs from the woods across the lane outside our plot.  We had bricks, old tiles and pieces of drain pipe on the allotment already. Twigs with holes, pieces of wood, old broken plant pots, straws, stones, pine cones and leaves were used.

rotting logs

 I spent a very pleasant afternoon putting it all together and felt that the grandchildren were really missing out on this activity. Now it's finished, it looks really good and I have left  plenty of spaces where we can add more nature stuff if we want to. The grandchildren came down to the plot recently and were quite impressed by  my super deluxe bug hotel.

A busy time down at the plot

It's been a busy few weeks down at the allotment, getting seeds sown and plants in the ground.  We've had some lovely weather too which has made our time down there much more enjoyable. Gradually the beds have been filling up as plants have started to grow and it's started to look like a proper allotment full of produce. I love to see rows of vegetables and peas and beans climbing up frames.

climbing beans

The onions got planted early on and the leeks were put in a couple of weeks ago. We still have another variety of leeks which I would like to plant but there's no space left. I might have to find some big containers to plant them in. I particularly wanted to to grow these as they are supposed to be rust and bolt resistant and those are the problems we often have with leeks.

The brassica bed is looking very neat and tidy at the moment with cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, swede and five sorts of cabbages. The whole bed is covered with a netting frame to deter the pigeons and cabbage white butterflies.

brassica bed

There are two double rows of broad beans, three rows of peas and two wigwams with climbing beans. The first lot of carrot seeds I sowed in April and put a fleece cloche over, but not a single one germinated. We don't give up easily though so another lot has been sown, along with parsnips and beetroot. Courgettes and sweetcorn are also in the ground now.

sweet peas, sweetcorn, beetroot and more

It gets to the stage at this time when there's the mad rush to get everything in the ground and just when I think I have it all sorted, I remember that there is still fennel to sow and celeriac to plant and where am I going to put them.

As well as the vegetables, I have been planting annual flowers which I grow for cutting. There is no space for a separate bed for them, the fruit and vegetables take priority, but I always manage to squeeze a few in  various places, between crops, at the end of a row or in amongst the fruit bushes. The sweet peas though are allowed a special place with a big frame. I love sweet peas and so do the bees.

Now I am hoping for our work to ease off a bit with just the odd row of salad leaves or radish to sow every couple of weeks.  I'm not sure it will though, there's always plenty to do on the allotment and as I write this we have had a day of drizzly rain which wasn't enough to fill the water butts but it was enough to get the weeds growing.  I know what my next job will be.

What's growing on your allotment at the moment?

Through the garden gate-- enjoying the flowers

This week I am joining with Sarah at  Down by the Sea for her monthly garden slot--'Through the Garden Gate'.

May and June are lovely months in the garden, more plants are coming into flower and all the foliage is a lovely fresh green colour.  When it rains this green looks even more vibrant against the dark wet soil.

I finally got to the end of my early spring weeding sessions and mulching the borders with compost.  Working through from the back garden to the front takes an awful long time, but it looks good when it is finished.

 I have been doing some planting in the front garden borders where we have cleared some space.  I had divided some big clumps of flowers from the back garden--a white campanula, giant scabious and lambs ears.  I also planted a geranium psilostemon which a friend gave me last year and I have spent ages deciding where to plant it.  I had some hostas  (from the same friend) which needed planting up too and I decided to put these in containers in the hope they may be less prone to slug damage.

For some instant colour I bought some container bedding plants from the local garden centre and potted these up.  I have big pots of them at the front and back doors and in various places around the garden.

There are so many plants now starting to flower that it's easy to miss them, so different to early Spring when you appreciate each new plant as it emerges. The aquilegia are all over the place, but I love them. There is one clump which has appeared in the yellow border, and is a lovely creamy white which goes perfectly in that bed. I wonder how it knew to put itself there?

We're having a spell of dry sunny weather at the moment, and it's lovely to be able to sit in the garden and just enjoy looking at all the flowers.