Bee More Helpful

Now is the time to prepare your soil and ready your plans for creating flower beds. St Patricks Day is traditionally the date to plant potatoes but the risk of frost isn't over until later in May so don't rush into it.

Grass

In the 1830s a device was invented which has decimated the population of insects and our Bees. It's likely to be in every gardeners shed and the ride on variety are far far worse. Yes the humble lawnmower really is murdering the insect population since cutting the grass also cuts the potential for flowering weeds and clover. No food for the insects from thousands and thousands of acres of family lawns and green spaces in Ireland, much of Europe, America, Asia........ You get the idea. This one invention does substantial harm to Bees worldwide.

The proposal now is to cut only that which you need short and allow the remainder to grow for up to 6 weeks at a time. This allows clovers to flower and it still looks more like a golf course....a little more natural looking, flowers can be added and ultimately it's less work and waste too!

Food Pockets

If you watched the video you'll know that Bee corridors are needed. These chains or pockets of Bee Friendly flowering plants are relatively easy to make but Bees doesn't travel very far from home and these plants will not support as many bees as we'd like to think. We're also looking to provide a mixture of plants that will flower to provide pollen between February through to October. That means we're looking to provide a huge number of plants and that's where your home garden is so important. With 3,000 or so local homes we could host at least as many Bee friendly plants in the neighbourhood.

Flowers

Not all flowers produce pollen and there's a long list on the www.Pollinators.ie website.

When people talk of wildflowers I think they really picture in their mind meadows of flowering red poppies, yellow rapeseed or mixtures but they're always images of colour. Wildflowers to me mean things that will grow and flower if we hadn't cultivated the land. Usually I think of weeds which are indeed wild and often the first to take advantage of exposed soil.

Dandelions were once the scourge of our lawn and a hated flower that is so difficult to remove from the grass. I often wondered why I bothered. These will now be encouraged albeit in a planned and creative mixed arrangements since they are so vital to Bees in the very early months of Spring.

If you see them leave them alone!

Weed Killer

Using these is lazy, toxic and in most cases it creates a self perpetuating vicious circle that doesn't stop future weeds from returning.

We were very disappointed to see the local Council contractor recently out spraying the roadside kerb edging in late February. We had hoped to avoid the burnt grass and exposed earth look around trivial things such as roadside signs and lamp posts. If they had left them alone The JTT would happily keep them in check each week.