Blog on Nature Works

It was only a matter of time before the culture wars were made explicit in gardening This from Rebecca McMackin’s newsletter Shots fired!

There is a wealth of design and plant knowledge to be drawn from historic gardens I was planning a big blog post but time says otherwise. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230717-st-fagans/

If you have grass paths or a lawn, then boundary plants can help stop grass creep into the border I have written before about boundary plants to keep grass from creeping into the border. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230528-boundary-plants/

How about a native garden with fungi, ferns, grasses & forbs?

The news is filled with stories from the Nature & Climate Emergency. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230518-what-happens/

The world is full of doubt.

Photo of silvopasture in northern Spain A friend on my forest garden Telegram group posted a photo from northern Spain of silvopasture, where there’s animal farming and agroforestry combined. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230502-silvopasture/

New classes section in place and a renamed store Ain’t no denying it, we are truly in a Nature and Climate Emergency. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230501-classes/

After a blip, regular blogging service has now been resumed The website has been on hold for a couple of weeks. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230429-website/

Locally grown, sustabinable cut and wild flowers grown on a smallholding in West Wales.

A one acre-ish south-west facing woodland garden I’ve had a lovely little design job come up, a south-west facing, steeply sloping woodland garden. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230415-syra/

I had an email back from a prospective client, and this is what it said I tried to get some work via Bark.com, for a local builder who wanted a garden designing so he could sell the house. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230403-rejection/

What does a forest garden even look like?

Benjamin Vogt is a big US proponent of ornamental native prairie gardens.

Pruning the overgrown willow dome at the primary school, and a Wildlife Trust workshop This morning I took the pruning saw and secateur to the overgrown willow dome in the wildlife food forest at the primary school. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230…

Fitting a hedgehog highway and a tile roof for the bee logs I spent a couple of happy hours this morning, making hedgehog highways, putting a roof on a gabion and fitting the remaining wires for the espaliered fruit trees and honeysuckles in a clients’ ga…

I did a bit of work for the neighbour of a client, weeding and mulching. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230324-what-we-want-is-life/

I took the apple trees to the primary school and talked to the pupils about grafting, clones and propagation Work continues on the wildlife food forest, albeit slowly, at my local primary school. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230323-apple-pots/

A forest garden is an intersectional garden, not in a limited sense of intersecting, but because it’s a response truly intersectional forces I was listening to the latest episode of my favourite gardening podcast Roots and All, and it was an interview with

The Future Generations Act in Wales is a groundbreaking piece of legislation, may we should all have gardens for future generations?

Cinema, like dreams, can help work through our lives I watched World War Z with my teenaged son the other night. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230306-dreams/

How about a safari park dedicated to UK wildlife?

“So, what does this Nature & Climate Emergency garden actually look like?”

Nadine Mitschunas has created the most amazing wildlife allotments, and writes a blog for the Hardy Plant Society I first saw My Wildlife Allotment on BBC Gardeners World a couple of years ago, and was impressed then with the visual richness of the allotm…

In a Climate Emergency, figure out how to hold on to your precious water.

Spent the day clearing up the polytunnel, there’s a few perennial veg in there and a lot of material for the compost bin We grow Cape Gooseberry (the most excellent jam), Yacon (salads?)

English colonialism on full titular display With my new found enthusiasm for foraging, herbs and medicinal plants, I’m reading a book from my Mum’s gardening book collection that I inherited. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230219-english/

A new wildlife & edible garden project for an idyllic timber framed Cotswold house Yesterday I was at the edge of the Cotswolds, with a new forest garden project. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230214-thatched/

How useful are video gardening diaries?

What is the difference between foraging and cultivating?

I’ve managed to create my RSS feed, so know my blog posts will automatically appear on Facebook & Mastodon.

A trip to see a client emphasised the need for a whistlestop primer on wildlife and forest gardening I went to a mid Victorian stone farmhouse today, to discuss designing a forest garden. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230210-primer/

Just a couple of quick links, UK & global ecology references For a long time, I’ve been singing the praises of the Database of Insects and their Food Plants. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230209-biodiverse/

A new project, 5½ acre hilltop field forest garden Very busy couple of days, yesterday marked up the Primary school project with a labyrinth outline and seating area. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230207-hiraeth/

Wildlife gardener John Little is on TikTok, hurrah!

National Biodiversity Network Atlas is amazeballs Conscious I haven’t been blogging every day, so will be posting whatever comes up. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230205-species/

This is remarkably bad news that hasn’t really hit the headlines “@PNASNews suggests earth will cross the 1.5 degrees C temperature increase threshold in the next decade (within just 10 to 15 years) and is likely to exceed 2 degrees C by around 2060. http…

Northern Highbush Blueberry species for a woodland bed in a local garden I‘m planting up the Rhug garden, the woodland beds, and I’m putting in a few Northern Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) bushes. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230131-blu…

Back to buffering my social media messages!

The two videos have been published!

No, not a prairie woodland mash up but two separate online events in one evening I have a lot of time for Benjamin Vogt.

Forging local connections During my more low-level tasks, in amongst the flower beds and on the cutting room floor, my mind will often race ahead on the complexities of the Nature & Climate Emergency. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230122-behind-you/

The end of the beginning as I publish my new online class I was going to write about a permaculture musings post I read, which talks about design and colonialism. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230119-end-begin/

Democracy is good for the environment On Monday 16 January, I went to a 1.5 hour Zoom talk and discussion about a participatory democracy project run by an organisation called Gwyrddni (translates as Green Us I think). https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/…

Making wildlife forest garden classes takes a long time!

An Evening for Wildlife Gardeners online, with Dave Goulson, Thurs 12th Jan 2023 7.30-9.00PM Notes from this evening, in a very notish format!

Finally finished editing the CAD for Gardeners video I finally finished editing the video today.

Video editing is hard graft I’m in the midst of editing my 1 hour-ish long CAD for Gardeners class. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230113-kdenlive/

There will be no bumblebees in the UK by the end of the century if we hit 3.5°C I went to an online “Evening for Wildlife Gardeners” tonight, organised by the Wildlife Garden Forum, and it was really very good and really very sad. https://www.natureworks.…

His podcast is rather good I actually managed to get some gardening done after days of writing and filming. https://www.natureworks.org.uk/blog/230111-eatweeds/