Wednesday 7 May 2014

Meadow Sweet


Here's the raised bed I've sowed with flower seeds to make a mini-meadow for bees and butterflies. The plants in the front of the bed are Verbascum Bombyciferum - they develop dramatic furry candle-like stalks with tiny yellow flowers that bees can't resist. 
Many of the meadow seeds are well past the recommended planting dates on the packets, so it'll be interesting to see what comes up. I sowed the seeds last week, little plantlets are already making an appearance.


The bars should keep birds and the local cats at bay till the meadow establishes itself.
Here's an intriguing poem with a field and butterflies. Ok, rather dark. Beautiful, nevertheless.


Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota
Over my head, I see the bronze butterfly,   
Asleep on the black trunk,
Blowing like a leaf in green shadow.   
Down the ravine behind the empty house,   
The cowbells follow one another   
Into the distances of the afternoon.   
To my right,
In a field of sunlight between two pines,   
The droppings of last year’s horses   
Blaze up into golden stones.
I lean back, as the evening darkens and comes on.   
A chicken hawk floats over, looking for home.
I have wasted my life.

James Wright


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