From ragwort to riches

I’m very excited to report that cinnabar caterpillars are thriving in our garden this year. After my worries about its apparent decline last year, the ragwort is back in force and more of my favourite caterpillars than ever are enjoying their favourite food. The baby caterpillars began to appear at the start of the month, and already a couple of very tall ragwort plants are bending under the weight of hundreds of plump orange-and-black bodies as they munch and wriggle their way down the stem. Many smaller ragwort plants dotted around the lawn are supporting a handful of caterpillars each too.

I was happy this week to see a bunch of other cinnabar fans sharing their latest sightings on twitter.

Did we do anything differently? Only that we’ve done even less than usual. We’ve let a small section of the garden grow completely wild now, and the tallest of the ragwort plants have sprung up there. The willow tree has grown very tall so there’s more shade over these plants, which might be helping them out in this freakishly hot weather we’re having. Also, the lawn has only been mown once or twice since last summer, so the smaller ragwort plants have had a chance to grow, and the caterpillars have successfully hatched out here without having to take their chances against the lawnmower.

This even more laissez-faire approach to our garden than usual is partly due to the new human baby in our lives, who is five months old now and doesn’t leave us much time for gardening. But thanks to her three-year-old brother’s enthusiasm for the garden, it does at least get watered every now and then.

In other, pricklier news…

Plenty of animals are enjoying the wilder garden: less mowing and more wildflowers mean more invertebrates, and more of the bigger garden visitors who like to eat them. Our back garden bird feeder, and dandelions in the spring, have been popular with a family of goldfinches who are magical to watch, and there are often blackbirds and sparrows hopping across the grass picking up spiders, worms and other small creatures. Earlier this week I was beyond excited to see a large hedgehog strolling through the garden early one morning. And in the front garden where red valerian has taken over, a stunning hummingbird hawkmoth came to visit.

I have none of my own photos of these sightings (my hands are usually full at the moment!) so you’ll just have to take my word for it. I’ve been taking more photos of wildlife out and about where I can though, as I’ve been enjoying using the iNaturalist app for recording wildlife sightings.

In upcoming posts: I’ve been learning more about wild bees and how we can help them; and watch this space for a first report from the newly formed Bristol Spider Group!