You don’t really need to do much for insects, just leave some of the garden slightly untidy. I can manage that. Unfortunately, when you look round the gardens that surround us, I’m one of a dying breed. The neighbours on one side have gradually turned their garden into a hard-landscaped hell over the last thirty years, whilst the previous set on the other side have erased every feature of interest. They also tried to tell me how to manage my garden. I’m hoping the new neighbours on that side might be an improvement. They have given me cake twice since moving in, so I do have reason for optimism.
The featured image is a bug box in the Sainsbury’s car park in Whitby. They did make a big thing about them at one time, with in-store posters, but this is the only one I actually remember seeing. It’s quite an elegant thing, and would grace any garden.
The next group of bug hotels are behind the centre at Attenborough. I just checked the link and see I’ve already shown them. Just goes to show how bad my memory is. The pictures below show some arrangements from Carsington Water – which can be as simple as leaving a pile of logs.
The one attached to the tree is in the garden of the Bishop’s Palace at Southwell Minster.
At the moment I’m thinking about the best way to get some bug cover in the garden, as we’ve had to clear a lot of clutter to get the garden in shape. Somewhere I have more pictures, but how many do you need to see?
Our farm came with a mason bee abode on the outside east wall of the shed, under the eaves. Yes, insects can be a mixed blessing, especially when ladybugs start invading the house. We escort them outside. 🙂
Yes, we were once invaded by ladybirds in Norfolk in the 1970s – you can definitely have too many.http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/ladybird-invasion-hits-norfolk-1768822.html
Unfortunately, cluster flies have decided that our loft is an ideal insect hotel and hibernate there each winter. We dread having to go up there to fetch Christmas decorations etc because a few flies decide to leave the security of the loft and explore the house. They usually end up in the kitchen spinning round and round on their backs on the floor.
I do like those bug boxes and I have been meaning to make one for years but I’ve still not got round to it. We do have plenty of scruffy and untidy corners in our garden I am pleased to say.
Yes, insects can be a mixed blessing. 😉
Hmmm 😉
My mum and dad had masonry bees that would occasionally invade the living room. Interesting but not entirely welcome.
We used to get those in a former house! Loads of black bees tumbling out of the chimney into the living room 😀
🙂 Glad it wasn’t just us!
The RHS has of course its ‘Greening grey Britain’ campaign to get people to stop tarmacking their gardens over. Why do people buy houses with gardens if that’s all they want to do with them? There are plenty of empty flats since the 2008 financial crisis.
I don’t know the answer – but another front garden down this street became a block-paved car park last week. 🙁
🙁
But hopefully your new neighbours will be more amenable!
I’m going to start working on them. 🙂
Love this! I have become increasingly concerned about native bees & other insects as they lose habitat. These are great ideas.
Thank you. We made quite a few bug hotels with visiting groups when we were on the farm, including ones made from plastic bottles. I must look out the details.
We use piles of nicely rotting logs. You will know that we have a rat-infested jungle on one side. On the other the, equally large, garden is laid to grass and stone.
Rotting logs are good. Rat-infested jungle is a step too far. 🙂
The Council seems to be on to it
That’s good news.
Very few people seem to worry about the lack of insects, particularly butterflies. One of out neighbours is also apparently engaged in turning his garden into a life free zone.
People can be very strange…
Perhaps these people don’t read the same material as us? Or watch the same TV etc….
I’m sure they don’t. 🙂
I do like those little houses for solitary bees. That bug house is really nice.
Yes, there are some nice ones about. Julia bought me one a couple of weeks ago made by a local Men in Sheds group. It’s very heavy because they used oak offcuts. 🙂