Autumn life in the undergrowth

Providing some of the colour in the planted borders

Taking advantage of a break in the rain and I finally complete maintenance to the wildlife friendly banking

Thinning out some of my strawberry plants, removing weeds and turning over the soil before transplanting the healthiest plants.

I thought to make an early start on maintaining the wildlife friendly area

An hour or so maintaining the wildlife friendly banking while the sun was out

While onsite tidying my raised planters I thought I would begin trimming the wildlife friendly banking area, clearing away dead plants, thinning out various grasses and taking care not to disturb any of the inhabitant protected species (slow worms and common lizards) that may not have gone into hibernation yet.

Weather permitting I should be able to complete this tomorrow.

Maintaining my planters in between the showers

Still a little more work needed but that can wait for a drier day

A comma butterfly feeding on blackberries

Its that time of year again.......planning for next years crops

Hover flies taking advantage of some late flowering calendula

Seasonal colour in the planted borders

Remembering the work of friends and past volunteers before getting power tools when we all got a good workout while maintaining the area

An early visit from a red admiral

Small copper and common blue butterflies visiting today

Repairing a section of damaged post and wire fencing and adding extra posts

After fellow service users had made an excellent job of tidying one of their planters I thought I would have a go at repairing a damaged section of post and wire fencing, increasing tension to the wire and adding a couple of extra posts for additional support.

The mini beast hotels are really beginning to blend in naturally

Trying to keep the wildlife friendly area tidy

Signs of autumn from the hawthorn in the wildlife area

Common lizard basking on the wildlife friendly area

A year in the life of a common lizard…

Spring - Adult lizards emerge from their hibernation sites in early spring. Mating takes place around April.

Summer - Females incubate the eggs inside themselves and ‘give birth’ to up to 11 live young around July/August. Juvenile lizards are tiny – less than 5cm long – and are darker in colour than the adults.

Autumn - Lizards spend the next couple of months feeding up on invertebrates in preparation for winter. They feed on worms, slugs and insects and give their prey a good shake, to stun it, before swallowing.

Winter - Common Lizards hibernate, often in groups, amongst rocks or dead wood generally between November and March. They may take advantage of milder patches of weather to come out and forage.

Common Lizards are protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, against being deliberately killed, injured or sold/traded in any way.

Reference: froglife

Preparing for next year - collecting calendula (pot marigold) seeds

Still a mess.....but I could be wrong

A variety of plants on the grow your own scheme

Poppies adding colour on an otherwise dull and damp day

Spotted several common blue butterflies on the banking today

Vipers bugloss on one of the wildlife friendly areas

Vipers bugloss is a good source of food for a large variety of insects including; bumblebees, honey bees, painted lady and large skipper butterflies.