2022 saw our earliest frog spawning to date here in Perthshire, Scotland. It arrived unexpectedly on 15th March just as the opportunity of bright, warmer days made for a bit of a garden tidy. Clearing leaves and thinning out pond plants was top of the list but the job was half done when the spawn… Read More Fascinating frogs, spawn and newts
The camera overlooking the wildlife pond has been doing a great job in adding a new perspective to gardenwatching. I love it. Image captures have been varied from birds and hedgehogs drinking, cats trying to catch the resident frogs to blackbirds eating the tadpoles and taking away nesting material from the edges. A huge variety… Read More Big feet of heron walk into pond
As per much gardenwatching over the years, unexpected sightings often happen when the focus is on something else. Last Sunday, a morning check on the wildlife pond frogspawn didn’t just reveal a thin layer of ice (which was a worry). Here’s the real wildlife drama in pictures… Watching the new wildlife environment that can be… Read More The boatman and the ladybird
A wildlife pond highlight, for sure, was the discovery of a clump of frog spawn in the shallow, sunlit pond edge last weekend. It was a quick snapshot on my phone to record the moment, after stepping near the edge to avoid garden works chaos created with new wiring work for the hedgehog feeding station.… Read More First frogspawn 23/3/19, no hedgehogs yet
National Insect Week took me out to the garden with a camera last night. Someone crept up on me and the focus shifted 🙂 It was a non-gardening practical job that took me outdoors this morning, nothing whatsoever to do with nature or insects. Noisy garden visitors were heard the minute I opened my back… Read More #30DaysWild Day 26 – Insects love water
Strictly speaking this isn’t a ‘doing something for wildlife, Day 24’ but more of a ‘one I prepared earlier’. However, this is something I’ve done for the wildlife currently living in my pond so that makes it completely relevant to now. October 2013 saw the liner go down for a new wildlife pond. The water… Read More #30DaysWild Day 24 – Wildlife pond plant list
Preparing for a positive outcome in the wildlife pond, that some tadpoles escape being eaten by Damselfly nymphs and make it to froglet stage, tonight’s gardening job was extra plant cover for their emergence from the water. A Gunnera plant (commonly known as giant rhubarb) wouldn’t be the first plant to spring to mind for… Read More #30DaysWild Day 22 – Shelter for froglets
Pond plants really are a great way to work and connect with nature. On the most basic level, for both gardener and wildlife, they oxygenate the water keeping it fresh and clear. They also provide wildlife a place of shelter from larger predators like herons, cats and humans too. As a gardener, I have enjoyed… Read More #30DaysWild Day 10 – Checking the pond plants
This summer has gone swimmingly with so many days of warm sunshine which have kept me busy in the garden and away from the PC. I have to confess to have been enjoying this PC/blogging free time. Reconnecting with my garden has been great! I feel refreshed 🙂 Many garden jobs that were on that… Read More A new gardenwatch era begins
A monthly garden history covering all aspects of the garden in the form of a Gardenwatch Report seems like a useful plan to refer back to. As the garden year is picking up speed, it’s easy to forget some of the garden work, flowers and sightings that didn’t make blog posts, diaries or notebooks. My… Read More The Gardenwatch Report: FEB 2014