Welcome to the inaugural blog for the newly dedicated Hamilton Lane wildflower garden.  The aim of this project is to grow a range of native flowers and fine grasses that will provide year round food and / or shelter for a diverse array of species from invertebrates to mammals.

This is very much a work in progress and creating a meadow-like habitat on an allotment site poses many challenges.  What’s more I am learning as I go, so I’ll be making a monthly diary of what’s worked and what hasn’t, as well as talking about what’s growing and who’s visiting.  I’ll probably also leave a few comments about wildlife and conservation in general along the way.

You may be wondering why we need a wildflower garden when there are already so many marvellous blooms on display at Hamilton Lane.  Well, one crucial difference is that this habitat will be providing food for the larval stages of creatures such as the butterflies and moths that don’t like munching prized vegetables and another is that the relatively undisturbed earth allows a bit of peace for the many creatures such as grasshoppers that spend the winter in the soil as eggs or pupae.

There are so many more wildlife benefits to the wildflower garden, but I’d better not ramble on, so I’ll discuss them all in future instalments as the seasons unfold.