Nature garden photos
28 June 2008 20:52![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
enismirdalI eventually took some photos of the nature garden. My intention eventually is to make a webpage about the nature garden, but webpages require content, and I want to include a list of insect species in the garden, and I can't find my insect book at the moment so it'll have to all wait until that's been located.
On the subject of insect species, I went to Hampstead Heath again today, beetle-hunting once more. And saw not a single Hoplia. Boo. But I saw lots of other cool stuff, like another Bombus hypnorum (this time a worker), a crab spider, and a gorgeous spider sitting on a nursery web. It was a really nice day to go wandering around Hampstead Heath, actually, very sunny but not obnoxiously hot - I had my fieldwork hat, factor 35 and lots of water, so all was well.
It doesn't look like much from the outside - a fenced-off area of land next to the railway. There's some low-rise ex-local authority housing facing on to it. I hear the first-floor maisonettes get a nice view in though.
As you walk in, the front area has got reasonably established as pseudo-ancient woodland, with small trees that are fairly under control, and lots of woodland plants growing at ground level, anemones and stinking irises and sweet violet and so on... (At this time of year, though, the leaf cover cuts out a lot of light, hence the flash!)
On the other side is the compost heap. We don't actually use the compost in the garden - when you're managing something as a natural habitat, too many nutrients in the soil is more of a problem than too few! So the compost heap is largely just a convenient place to put unwanted greenery and a habitat for lots of interesting wildlife!
There's a path running down the centre of the garden. This leads you to a seating area (also suitable for picnics and the occasional barbeque!) There are some less woodlandy plants in this bit - things like chicory, teasel, ox-eye daisies and red campion. Also a few more invasive things that we're permanently battling to control!
There's also an older bench in this area...right next to a fox's earth! Local families frequently feed the fox the remainders of their grand cooking operations, so there are random bones in several parts of the garden!
The path leads on further, to an area with some shrubby bits and bobs, and lots of alkannet.
...and continues all the way to the far end of the garden, where it turns into woodland once more (though the trees there are taller and the overshadowing from the walls means much less grows). Unfortunately it backs on to a slightly rough housing estate, and a local builders' merchant has decided it's his divine right to use the garden as a disposal ground for his unwanted building waste, so we keep having to haul out bits of wood, bags of plaster, tins of paint and cans of beer from that end.
So that's it, really - it's not a big place. But anyone who cares can now get a feel for this place I keep raving about. There's also a short video here (~2MB, no sound, don't watch full-screen as the quality is poor and I'm not good at holding a camera steady whilst walking, so you'd get instant sea-sickness).
In the meantime, I'm waiting for Dr Who to make it on to iPlayer. I know this is an unusual comment from me, but please no one spoil me!!!
On the subject of insect species, I went to Hampstead Heath again today, beetle-hunting once more. And saw not a single Hoplia. Boo. But I saw lots of other cool stuff, like another Bombus hypnorum (this time a worker), a crab spider, and a gorgeous spider sitting on a nursery web. It was a really nice day to go wandering around Hampstead Heath, actually, very sunny but not obnoxiously hot - I had my fieldwork hat, factor 35 and lots of water, so all was well.
It doesn't look like much from the outside - a fenced-off area of land next to the railway. There's some low-rise ex-local authority housing facing on to it. I hear the first-floor maisonettes get a nice view in though.
As you walk in, the front area has got reasonably established as pseudo-ancient woodland, with small trees that are fairly under control, and lots of woodland plants growing at ground level, anemones and stinking irises and sweet violet and so on... (At this time of year, though, the leaf cover cuts out a lot of light, hence the flash!)
On the other side is the compost heap. We don't actually use the compost in the garden - when you're managing something as a natural habitat, too many nutrients in the soil is more of a problem than too few! So the compost heap is largely just a convenient place to put unwanted greenery and a habitat for lots of interesting wildlife!
There's a path running down the centre of the garden. This leads you to a seating area (also suitable for picnics and the occasional barbeque!) There are some less woodlandy plants in this bit - things like chicory, teasel, ox-eye daisies and red campion. Also a few more invasive things that we're permanently battling to control!
There's also an older bench in this area...right next to a fox's earth! Local families frequently feed the fox the remainders of their grand cooking operations, so there are random bones in several parts of the garden!
The path leads on further, to an area with some shrubby bits and bobs, and lots of alkannet.
...and continues all the way to the far end of the garden, where it turns into woodland once more (though the trees there are taller and the overshadowing from the walls means much less grows). Unfortunately it backs on to a slightly rough housing estate, and a local builders' merchant has decided it's his divine right to use the garden as a disposal ground for his unwanted building waste, so we keep having to haul out bits of wood, bags of plaster, tins of paint and cans of beer from that end.
So that's it, really - it's not a big place. But anyone who cares can now get a feel for this place I keep raving about. There's also a short video here (~2MB, no sound, don't watch full-screen as the quality is poor and I'm not good at holding a camera steady whilst walking, so you'd get instant sea-sickness).
In the meantime, I'm waiting for Dr Who to make it on to iPlayer. I know this is an unusual comment from me, but please no one spoil me!!!
