January Update 2018

The start of a  new year in the garden is always very exciting and as pretty as the Christmas tree was it felt good to take in down and pack away the lights for another twelve months.

The first month of the year is often about planning for spring and tidying up. The team has been busy cutting back the grasses around the pond. They may look a bit tried at the moment, but it is an important part  of have healthy plants. Spring is the next thing to be looking forward to at Loftus and already there are signs of life in some of the plants. January is a bleak time of year as most of the trees and shrubs are dormant and the tall ornamental grasses are looking a bit worse for wear so these will be cut down soon. It won’t look bare for long though as the early flowering Hellaboures are poking their heads through already  and will soon put on a fabulous display as well as providing early nectar for insects.

Although the trees and shrubs have been steadily establishing over the past few years, there is still a lack of dense cover suitable for nesting sites. To help out our little feathered friends, Paul and I have been putting up bird boxes. You will see them dotted around loftus in tucked away places and as the trees get bigger and stronger you will see them appear up in their branches.

Last year was a battle with of every type of garden pest you could think off, it was just a shame there wasn’t an equal supply of birds and wildlife to eat them all. This will all balance out over the next few years as everything grows and birds decide that Loftus is a fabulous place to set up home with its abundance of food on hand and plenty of cover for nesting.

Creating a haven for biodiversity as well as a beautiful place for us humans to live is what Loftus is all about.

To promote biodiversity of the Loftus we have been erecting bird boxes around the scheme in areas that will promote  some feathered visitors to the gardens.