Bulbs in the Courtyard

Back in September last year we started cleaning up the front courtyard after a couple of years of neglect. The cobbled surface was weeded, as were a number of pots and planters, and we removed a frame which I had put in for a passionfruit to climb over.

Unfortunately, we were unable to sufficiently water the previous planting due to a continuing drought, which was very dispiriting. Everything except one very persistent tulip died.

However, I have dipped my toes into gardening again, and in November I planted some bulbs and added some compost.

I'm pleased with the results.

A New and Unnecessary Garden Bed

I am dismayed to see that part of the nature strip near the médiathèque has been dug up and planted with garden plants that, whilst certainly eye-catching, are rather ordinary. 

 

 Lovely pocket of wild bee and orchid friendly habitat on the left. Banal bed of primulas on the right.

This area, along with the public park containing the chapel and the space behind the médiathèque, is a veritable treasure trove of natural biodiversity! It is teeming with native plant species, fungi and wild pollinators nesting in the ground, perfectly adapted to this dry, gravelly and compacted soil. Some of these species are uncommon, others even rare, and at least one, although it thrives here, is globally threatened.

These green spaces, left to minimal management, contribute enormously to Preuilly’s environmental well-being. They do not contribute as much if they are disturbed by earthworks and alterations.

 

Autumn Lady's Tresses leaf rosette, low profile enough to be safe from the mower, but the flower spike never survives to set seed.

Do you think a nature-loving tourist will be more impressed by the four species of wild orchids they can see near the médiathèque, or by a few primula they could grow in their own garden at home?

But these areas are mowed far too often by the local council. Every year, I look forward to seeing certain specific species and I tell my friends to come and look, only to find the special plants have been mowed off in their prime the day before.

 

The offending flower bed, plonked right over the spot where the Ivy Bees and Sand Wasps nest.

I have written about these wonderful little wild spots on several occasions, and here is a link to give you an idea. 

 Further reading:

Biodiversity at the Bibliotheque https://daysontheclaise.blogspot.com/2021/09/biodiversity-at-bibliotheque.html

 

I've emailed the town hall to express my disgruntlement, and the new mayor has responded saying she would be delighted to meet to discuss. So now I've emailed my retired ecologist friend who lives in town to see if he would be willing to accompany me to a meeting. I'd like to get the discussion extended to the cemetery too. It could certainly do with some 'greening'.