Down the side of the bungalow is a path that I don't use much as I go in and out of the front door.
It has a path of one slab wide or two in places and shingle on old, torn, weed suppressant on each side. When I had the cement base done for the greenhouse two years ago I got a quote to sort the path out but it was over £2,000 so I didn't bother.
Originally each shingle bit was full of annoying weeds, which I kept pulling out but this year lots of useful 'weeds' have appeared including Valerian and that Buddleia which wasn't there two years ago but is now 12 feet tall and also a big clump of Lemon Balm.
In line with the latest trend I'm calling it my re-wilding area!
Back Tomorrow
Sue
Gosh, 2000 is a lot of money for a small path. I would have done the same as you, the rewilding is lovely and beneficial for insects. You could throw some Calendula, Cornflower and Poppu seeds in it for next year, they do their own thing, I just pull them all up in Autumn and they just appear each year. Gardening alone is just constant vigilance isn’t it? Sandra.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to get some hollyhock seeds from BiL's plants and see how they do down there - they seem to like growing in a crack in the path so might do well on shingle
DeleteGreat idea.
ReplyDeleteI'll need to cut the buddleia back sometime - it's gone crazy.
DeleteIt looks nice.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I saved my £2,000!
DeleteI like it. I expect it will attract lots of butterflies. X
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to have another buddleia and a different colour to the two in the garden
DeleteFar nicer than a sterile path. My sort of gardening as everything is free and there is the constant surprise of what will arrive next. Nature is always so generous and lemon balm tea is delicious. Sarah in Sussex
ReplyDeleteI know lots of birds like lemon balm seed later in the year too
DeleteI wish some of my plants grew as strongly as weeds grow, I love the look of your path, my hubby would be there ripping them all out.
ReplyDeleteColin wasn't keen on weeds either!
DeleteI think it looks wonderful
ReplyDeleteThank you - all by chance!
DeleteI had a chuckle at the weed suppressant bit, lovely and colourful though!
ReplyDeleteThe previous owners put weed suppressant all over the place and it's difficult to get out when you don't need it anymore
DeleteWhen I was growing up, many people had gardens with "wild areas" where things just grew naturally. One grandmother had a particularly wild area at the bottom of her garden and she always said it was her Fairies Garden and that she left it like that so the fairies would have somewhere to live :)
ReplyDeleteYup, got two areas like that here! Currently the "orchard" is head height with Rosebay Willowherb and certainly, fairies could hide very successfully in there!
DeleteGrowing up in a builders yard full of building materials there were lots of wild area - and not a lot of time for gardening so it never mattered where we played
DeleteYou could add a few spikey bushes to narrow the path down even further, to deter burglars from entering the back yard.
ReplyDeleteThe gate is bolted so not so easy to get in
DeleteEven though I believe in letting nature do its thing to grow naturally, I also believe in being practical. What would you do if, for some reason, you can't get in/out of your front door and that side was overgrown? Let it grow,yes, but make sure you have a pathway to access the front or back.
ReplyDelete|Yes will keep it clear enough to get through
DeleteWe have a similar area at the side of our house . . . and another at the far end of the garden. Our neat and tidy neighbours must despair of us.
ReplyDeleteI have another bit where the oil tank was before it was moved but I'm cutting the weeds there until they turn into grass so the oil delivery and access to my freezer room is easy
DeleteMost definitely! x
ReplyDeletePlenty of things for the bees
DeleteI like the rewilding look. When we were recently on the outskirts of Leeds many of their grass verges had council signs saying the verges were part of a rewilding scheme. I think it is actually nothing to do with helping the bees etc but more the council budget doesn't stretch to verge cutting anymore - but I don't mind the rewilding - I do mind them spending money on big signs though and having the signs themselves all over the place. No doub without them some people would report the verges to the council as needng cutting!
ReplyDeleteIt was getting dangerous on junctions around here as the verges hadn't been cut anywhere but they are doing a few now
DeleteIt looks a picture Sue - let it be. I aim to get my whole garden like that and am well on the way. I threaten my gardener with a fate worse than death if he pulls out my Valerian which has decided to arrive - pink, red and white.
ReplyDeleteI can't have the whole garden like that - need a bit of grass, and flowers and my veg. beds
DeleteBrilliant for insects and no-one sees it bar them, so nothing to worry over.
ReplyDeleteMy neighbour in the house said they had a Buddleia that colour once but it fizzled out - I think it moved next door!
DeleteThank you for having a re-wilding area that will attract pollinators. And it looks nice too. Catriona
ReplyDeleteThe Hummingbird Hawkmoth wouldn't have visited if I'd pulled the Valerian when it appeared - I quite like it
DeleteI think it might need a bit of cutting back now and then just to keep the path open to use. A strimmer wouldn't cost 2000 pounds!
ReplyDeleteYes the Buddleia will be cut right back in the Autumn and the valerian and lemon balm cut back after they've seeded
DeleteLooks good and you still have a way through if you want it
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
Yes I can still get through.
DeleteI like it.
ReplyDeleteSo do I
DeletePlants that seem to appear and grow well, I call volunteers. Your flowering volunteers are lovely. Hollyhocks would be great too. I have no luck with hollyhocks and I've tried to grow them many times.
ReplyDeleteI love your tiny meadow. I have had very good success w coreopsis reseeding and returning, also cosmos, phlox. Hollyhocks would be great, tho two years to flower. In late fall you can sow a pack or two of seeds that are mixes called Meadow or Pollinator/ Bee gardens/ Wildflowers. Very fun despite the crabgrass mixed in always.
ReplyDeleteIt’s lovely! You could definitively add to the wild flowers by sowing a mixture of seeds. And you can get mixes that don’t contain grass. I think you’ve been wise not to spend all that money! 😁
ReplyDeleteOur back 1/2 acre has been left fully wild. The front has many spots not quite so neatly re-wilded as yours. :-)
ReplyDelete--Elise
How wonderful to have useful plants spring up.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Good on you - add a couple of lumps of big firewood for beetles to live in or under and you will have an eco-tours site in no time.
ReplyDeleteA very good idea! xx
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet little walk way. I like it!
ReplyDeleteIt actually looks good, and just imagine all the little creatures that call that area home. The weed that grows out of the side of my lodge at the back doors has more bee visitors than any of the flowers in the garden.
ReplyDelete