Herald - Issue 401

28th January 2021 • The HERALD • Page 37 v SAY YOU SAW IT IN THE HERALD v | DOWN THE GARDEN PATH | • Tree Felling • Tree Shaping • Tree Purning & Thinning • Crown Reduction • Crown Lifting • Complete Tree Removal • Site Clearance • Dead Wooding • Hedge Cutting & Shaping • Gardening Evening: 01794 522092 Daytime Mobile: 07946 513633 Email: treefellers@gmx.com 07879 552227 www.crowngardensandlandscapes.co.uk info@crowngardensandlandscapes.co.uk A family run business with over 20 years experience. Our teams of professional, friendly and reliable Gardeners and Landscapers are passionate about gardening and landscaping to very high standards of presentation and quality workmanship. Garden Maintenance ♥ Lawns ♥ Hedges ♥ Borders ♥ Weeds ♥ Leaf Clearance ♥ Pressure Washing Landscaping ♥ Design ♥ Patios ♥ Artificial Lawns ♥ Decking ♥ Fencing ♥ Garden Repairs Your specialist Landscape and Garden Maintenance service, based in Hythe. We LOVE Gardening. So you don't have to! Here's a sample of some of the tasks we LOVE to do for you!. Innovators in Metal Quality Iron Works Guaranteed. Small and Large jobs undertaken, from gates and railings to weathervanes & Curtain Poles. Call Nathan on 07500 016546 customerservices@phoenixironworks.co.uk www.phoenixironworks.co.uk Unit B, Brokenford Business Centre, Brokenford Lane, Totton, Southampton, SO40 9LZ Bringing Wildlife into your Outdoor Space this Spring by Crown Gardens and Landscapes crowngardensandlandscapes.co.uk, send us an email: info@crowngardensandlandscapes.co.uk or give us a call: 07879 552227. Garden wildlife is not what we naturally think of in January. It is not a time for an awful lot of good things - especially in your garden. We o en think of the winter months as barren, with not much to o er animals and insects that have mostly gone into hibernation. But the plants that you choose for your garden can have an impact on animals and insects all year round. As BBC Gardeners World points out, our gardens are more important than ever for wildlife. “ ey help to form ‘green corridors’ in our towns and cities, increase biodiversity and provide shelter and food for a huge range of species.” We want to show you that it is possible to create a garden that nourishes nature in every season. Best for Winter Wildlife Some of our native shrubs and hedges provide great nourishment for the garden wildlife that we cannot see. Holly and hornbeam make great hedges for gardens, providing nourishment for caterpillars from the leaves while the berries from holly provide food for birds. Most insects go into hibernation during the winter, just like mammals, but a few stay awake and rely on rummaging around in hedges and plants to maintain their food supply. Best for Butterflies Once we head into spring, the emergence of butter ies can bring a bright splash of colour into your garden. Choosing the right plants for butter ies can ensure that your garden becomes a haven for the ever-declining numbers of butter ies in Britain. Buddleja, Hebe and Hemp-agrimony are hardy and provide plentiful nectar supplies for butter ies. ere is nothing quite like being surrounded by beautiful butter ies in an array of spectacular colours. Best for Bees Alongside butter ies, the numbers of bees are declining globally. Essential for pollenating and keeping our food supply stable, bees are an indispensable part of our planet. Picking plants that attract bees all year round is crucial – some bees are awake as early as February and as late as November and with global warming their hibernation periods are being disrupted. Bees are attracted to purple, so plants like lavender, catmint and Buddleja are ideal – they are also easy to grow so you do not have to be an expert gardener to get started. Best for Wet Wildlife Creating an area of your garden that will attract frogs, toads, newts, and birds is another great way of supporting garden wildlife. You do not have to have a pond, or make one, to be able to provide an environment where they will thrive. Look at our last blog to see how you can create container water features easily. Plants like water violet, marsh woundwort and water mint all provide fantastic eco-systems for gardens to help them support nature that little bit more. If all of this sounds like too much, then there are still some really easy ways to bring wildlife into your garden. Laying wild ower turf is simple and e ective, giving you a garden area that is as small or as large as you want it to be while still bringing in some colour and life to your outdoor space. Need some help creating a wildlife haven or choosing the right plants? Check out our regular blogs on our website: www. e club is looking forward to a much better year and they wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year. ey are extremely grateful for the dedication of all the NHS sta and key workers who have worked so tirelessly on their behalf and they hope the vaccines will allow everyone to return to something closer to normality. Before Christmas they were hoping to resume club meetings in March but due to the ongoing restrictions they think it might possibly be May or June. Looking ahead to May, they hope to welcome Graham King with a demonstration entitled ‘Pure Fantasy’ on Tuesday 11th May at 2pm. Katie Baxter will be the demonstrator on 8th June . ey will be contacting all their members towards the end of February with information on their possible re-open date. Meetings are held at the Royal British Legion Club, Exbury Road, Black eld, SO45 1XD. For further information please call Jan Gordon on: 023 8084 4835. Blackfield Flower Club Update