Garden wildlife hotspot

Over the summer I’ve been cultivating parts of the veg patch where soil has not seen the light of day since probably WWII. Today I tackled a stony section leading up to the wall and next to one of several compost heaps. Molly, our inquisitive collie, was almost by my side all day, transfixed by something inside the dry stone walls; the sun was strong and she was panting but even when I went to the house and fetched her a bowl of water, she would not pause her gaze for fear she’d miss the moment.

I was glad she was preoccupied when the earth before me started to move; not an earthquake but a mole whose snout broke surface and quickly retreated. I watched its progress as it tunnelled the few feet to the compost heap. A few minutes later it returned going the other way and the dry crumbly soil above it subsided, briefly revealing the black moleskin boiler suit. I nipped up to the house to get a camera ready for any next appearance.

But alas the mole did not return and I worked my way up the garden removing chunks of a rotten tree stump. As I pulled away at a large bit of root a male slow worm fell onto the bare soil; just as well I had the camera – beautiful.

After lunch, Molly still staring into the wall, I was removing some weeds beside the old tree stump and noticed a lizard in the wall. The camera was recharging up at the house but my mobile phone recorded the moment. And shortly after that, there was another lizard, possibly called Swampy, which stared me down, intent on preserving its homelands.

Taking note of the protest I have decided that this little patch of garden does not need to be cultivated; it obviously has a more noble purpose than food or flower production.

Beautiful Lizard at Ugly House

I dropped in to the Ugly House today to see what was new; thank goodness the food and the welcome were as good as ever. The gardens were looking brilliant and I could not resist buying £25 worth of bargains from the plant stand, all in perfect condition and meticulously labelled with pencil on wood.

On the path up to the compost toilet was a basking lizard, incredibly fat with a stubby tail; were baby lizards imminent? Or had it just eaten someone's sandwich?

Further into the woods were a series of beehive boxes marked THN1 and THN2 - Tŷ Hyll Nucleus hives? Apparently they have been left there on the off chance of attracting a swarm. The full scale hives at the top of the woods had increased from 2 to 3. In many places were sheets of corrugated metal and other materials, presumably to attract things like snakes?

In front of the tea rooms was Lisa, with an illustrated hive, taking out the frames to explain cross sections of what goes on inside. More unbelievable than science fiction but clear to understand.

If you would like to learn more about what goes on at Tŷ Hyll there is a bee friendly day on Saturday 31^st May with candle making, seed sowing, tree decorating, bee hunt & quiz, bee-friendly gardening advice throughout the day and visits to bee hives and talks on beekeeping. Full details here.

On 30th June there is another event: A Pollinator Friendly Garden Day -
Trees and Shrubs for Bees. Details of this event are here.