Who’s who in the world of the dragonfly and damselfly?

Dragonflies and damselflies should be out and about this month. They are similar in appearance and life-cycle. However, adult dragonflies are usually large and strong in flight and wander far from water, whereas damselflies are more delicate and weak in flight and stay close to water.

The fore- and hind-wings of dragonflies are different in shape, the hind-wings being broader near the body than the fore-wings. The fore- and hind-wings of the damselfly are similar in shape. At rest, dragonflies hold their wings wide open at right angles to their body whereas damselflies hold them back along their abdomen or partly open.

The eyes of dragonflies are close together, usually touching at some point, whereas those of damselflies are widely separated.

Dragonfly larvae have a broad, strong appearance and move in short busts as they expel water. Damselfly larvae are thinner and frailer and display gentler, undulating movements as they move using their tails.

When you really need a bog…

Natural bogs have been damaged by peat removal, reclamation, and pollution from nearby farmland. Garden bogs cannot provide a substitute habitat but they do provide valuable water, food plants, mud, shelter and breeding grounds for wildlife.

A bog garden is a really interesting mini habitat where plants can be grown that cannot survive elsewhere in the garden. It isn’t smelly provided leaves are removed. A hole is dug in the ground and lined with old plastic. This holds back water but it is pierced with a small number of tiny holes so it drains slowly. It is filled with nutrient-poor soil (i.e. without compost or fertilisers).

Widely available native bogs plants include the beautiful marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) which attracts hoverflies, and purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) and the unique ragged robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi) which both attract bees, moths and butterflies.

Watch out for BBC Springwatch which starts on Monday!

Mud, mud, glorious mud

Turtle doves, spotted flycatchers and swifts have arrived from Africa this month. House martins and swallows are noticeable too following their long holiday in the sun and they are searching for mud for nest building. It takes 2500 beaks full of mud to construct a single nest! Try creating a mud patch or ‘bog garden’ (next week’s subject) for them.

Mud is needed by mason bees for their nests too. These harmless solitary bees pack eggs and pollen in hollows before sealing them in with mud. It’s not too late to buy a nest for this year’s mason bees if you buy this weekend. Alternatively, cut a cylinder out of a plastic pop bottle and stuff it with hollow garden canes, or drill numerous 100mm deep, 8mm diameter holes in a wood block (not all the way through). Fix the nest on a sunny wall or tree.

Have gardeners with nettle nurseries really lost the plot?

Nettles may not be welcome in a border but they have many roles to play in any garden. They increase the strength and aroma of herbs and help tomatoes to ripen fully and prevent rot. They enrich the soil where they have grown and steeped leaves make excellent liquid feeds. They are excellent for the compost heap as they accumulate minerals from the soil such as iron, potassium and silica and their nitrogen content makes them a great compost activator.

A nettle patch provides an important nursery for butterflies, such as peacock, red admiral, comma and small tortoiseshell, enticing them to lay eggs there instead of on ornamentals and vegetables. Try not to disturb the patch in April and May when the eggs are laid. The nettles should be cut down part way in mid-June to provide fresh green shoots for red admirals and a second generation of commas and small tortoiseshells.

Battling for life in the fields

Now is the last chance to sow cornfield annuals. They look wonderful en masse as a meadow. Cornfield annuals, such as poppies, corn marigold, corn buttercup, scentless mayweed and cornflower are native wild flowers that cope well with life in regularly ploughed fields. Surviving in this environment means being able to go through their lifecycle rapidly before they get ploughed out. Cornfield annuals grow fast and flower and set seed in one season, hence ‘annual’. They often need disturbed soil to kick-start germination. Each year the Poppy Appeal reminds us of the soldiers who churned up fields during wartime resulting in mass germination of poppies. Sow the seed at a rate of 5-10g/m². Some seeds need frost action over winter to stimulate germination so expect to see these flower next year. Unlike most wild flower meadows, which require a nutrient-poor soil, cornfield annuals can be grown on rich soils.