INISHOWEN BUTTERFLIES

Photo:Dianthus.

(Click on the title for a link to the Inishowen Wildlife Club)


Bob Aldwell from the Dublin Field Club was at Dunree Fort last week to give a talk on butterflies. I stumbled into the room half an hour late with the family and eventually settled on a table at the back to find out more about what is happening to the butterflies in Inishowen. I know without being told that there is no shortage of the large and small white butterfly. These lay great numbers of eggs on the cabbages, broccoli and brussel sprout plant that we plant in the garden. In fact I am convinced they have joined forces and invested in a wheelbarrow as the plants are disappearing fast. I could go out and try to control them but they and most other butterflies are having a hard enough time without me joining in.

There are species that are suffering around the peninsula. The Large Heath butterfly is struggling because of the modern methods of cutting the turf on the bogs and the spread of conifer forestry plantations. The Marsh fritillary was common here but has not been seen for at least 9 years, again the impact of human activity has had a big impact. All is not lost though as a lot of butterflies are thriving and increasing in numbers now that we are using fewer chemicals on the land. The Green Hairstreak has been spotted in Moville this year and seems to have migrated from the Dublin area.

Our eagle eyed town gardener in Buncrana, George Mc Dermott spotted a Wall Brown butterfly this year, which is also a first in Inishowen.Most butterflies can live happily in your own garden and they do not necessarily have to munch away at your vegetables. Certain plants are big attractions for them. Buddleia and Sedum ‘brilliant’ will attract loads of varieties and even neglected areas covered with nettles will be a haven. Some annuals to plant could be Dill Calendula Candytuft Cosmos Petunias, Nasturtium and Zinnias. Perennials could include: Achillea, Dianthus, Asters, Erigeron, Mints and Sedums. Shrubs that could be effective at attracting the butterfly other than Buddleia could include Potentillas, Spireas Weigela and Viburnums. The more types of planting mean that there are more chances of attracting a greater variety of butterflies. The Inishowen Wildlife Club would be interested if you see any butterflies that are unusual in the garden. E-mail inishowenwildlife.com or check out their website.

Environmental.

DEAD SEAL ON THE WHITE STRAND

(Click on the title for a link to the Irish Seal Sanctuary)

A dead seal was found washed up on the White Strand beach in Buncrana last Thursday. The animal was first spotted near the pier earlier in the week, still alive and in obvious distress from an injury that looked like a gunshot wound. Seals are a protected species under European law and shooting the animals can only be undertaken with a licence issued by the Department of the Environment (section 4). According to a spokesperson for the DOE, none have been granted in Inishowen or the surrounding peninsulas this year.

There are two types of seal that live in the sea around Inishowen, the Atlantic Grey seal and the Common, or Harbour seal, as it is also known. Many see seals as an attraction to the coastline and their antics are often though to be endearing, however they are not universally welcomed.

UNWELCOME GUESTS
As a seals’ main diet is fish they have been found hanging around salmon farms. This can cause stress and subsequent loss of condition to the fish stock, however the more immediate and damaging problem is when a seal discovers that it can break into a salmon cage and gorge itself. The remaining fish escape to cause their own problems breeding with the wild populations of salmon, not to mention the financial loss of the fish themselves. Fish farmers are well aware of the damage a “rogue” seal can cause to their financial welfare. Seals can also hit the individual fisherman and ruin whole catches before they are brought ashore. As the seas get warmer more seals arrive around the Irish coast.

So, how can this problem be tackled?

There are devices on the market that have been designed to scare away seals. These products either use the hunting calls of species such as Killer Whales or else high frequency sounds to discourage seals from hanging around fish farms. These do work, but only for a limited time because the seals do become habituated to the noises, after which they will ignore them. When a single seal has found an easy food source, and stays around to exploit it, another way out that has been tried is to remove the individual seal from the area. The idea is that if this seal is removed the problem goes (although a new seal may take it’s place). The easiest way and unfortunately, the commonest way to remove the ‘problem’ is to shoot the seal. Shooting can be very effective, not only as it rids the area of a persistent “rogue”, but it may then deter other seals from visiting the area. In other instances around Ireland there have allegedly been reports that fish have had packets of strychnine sewn into them and the bodies then hung in the nets to poison the seals.

The other solution is to try to catch the seal and relocate it. This is not an easy task, but it works if the seal is moved far enough away from the original site. Some seals migrate so they have the ability to return “home” if they know where it is. In one case (as reported by the Seal Sanctuary) a seal was caught and released over forty miles away from its home, only to reappear a short time later! Catching seals is not an easy job though. What has happened in the past with this type of expensive, drawn out act is that eventually public interest dies down and the seal looses its novelty value and the intruder mysteriously “disappears”. Although it is illegal to shoot a seal, the people responsible for the acts are very rarely caught and prosecuted.

SEAL COUNT
The National Parks and Wildlife board in connection with the University of Cork will be attempting to count the number of Atlantic Grey seals around the Irish coastline in August and September of this year. The Common seal was counted in 2003 by helicopters using thermal imaging and their numbers were said to total around 3000. The Grey seal generally moves around more but at this time of year they are breeding so tend to stay in one place. Their numbers are estimated to be in the region of 4000. A precise count though will give the Department of the Environment a clear indication of where the population of the seals is highest and whether it is causing any problems for the livelihoods of people involved in the fishing industry. The seal rookeries around our coastline are on the rocks that appear in low tide and the population will tend to reduce in numbers as the grey seal split its time between here, Scotland and Wales. Unfortunately for them, their food source puts them in competition with us for the rich fish supplies around the coastline. For tourists pulling into Buncrana on the ferry and seeing a distressed dying seal that has been shot, isn’t much of a welcome. A spokesperson for the DOE says that the government is aware of the situation and they are trying to find an effective, humane and environmentally sensitive solution to this problem. In the meantime the Irish seal sanctuary based in Garristown Co Dublin are coming up with nets and traps to humanely move offending animals and relocate them in areas that are not fished. This organization runs on donations and can be contacted on 01 835 4370 or www.irishsealsanctuary.ie. If you have any information about the seal please contact the National Parks and Wildlife officer Emmett Johnston on 074 9322628

Environmental.

GARDEN DESIGN-WANTS LIST

FEATURE- TICK THE THINGS YOU WOULD LIKE OR DISLIKE IN YOUR GARDEN.


ESSENTIAL -IMPORTANT- WOULD LIKE -NOT WANTED


Herbaceous border


Flower beds


Trees


Lawn


Shrub border


Gravelled area


Paved area


Permanent barbecue


Furniture


Rock garden


Pond


Other water feature


Greenhouse/conservatory


Wildlife area


Summerhouse


Shed/store


Herb garden


Fruit garden


Vegetable garden


Trellis/arch


Sandpit/play area


Washing line


Compost bin


Water butt


Hobby area (e.g. bees)


Strong likes


Strong dislikes


Preference for any colour


Others


Horticultural.

GARDEN DESIGN-PLANNING IDEAS

Photo: Ferns for a shady spot.

PLANNING A GARDEN

Most of us have little difficulty watering our plants, finding a patch for the sweet peas or mowing the grass. When it comes to the planning of a garden though, even the most seasoned gardener can break out into a sweat. I did a garden design course a few years ago to make the planning of a garden a little easier. One thing the course taught me is that some of the best-designed gardens in the country have come, not from professional training, but by trial and error. Over the years dedicated gardeners will plant shrubs, lay paths, create herbaceous borders and put in water features. Then the next year everything could change. The garden is a living thing and like all of us, changes all the time (hopefully for the better!)

There are as many designs for gardens as there are gardeners and some people wouldn’t dream of doing anything in the garden unless a professional landscaper was present. The instant garden is very popular at the moment. This can be disappointing for the customer when they realise that they might have to wait a few years for their escallonia hedge to reach six feet in height!

I remember seeing a company that delivered your garden on pallets after you chose the style you wanted. The garden, containing grass herbaceous plants, shrubs and even ornaments were dropped off and pieced together like a jigsaw. The plants stayed on the pallets so they could be taken away again and changed to suit the season.

I find it more satisfying to wait for plants to mature and fill the spaces where they were planted. It is also much cheaper too. A small hedging plant will cost a couple of euro where a five-year-old one could cost ten times that amount. The small shrubs soon catch up. I have been visiting some friends over the holidays that moved into a new estate ten years ago. When we first visited the gardens were plain lawns. Over the years I’ve seen small shrubs, trees and plants mature, beds and features added making gardens private and the estate attractive. Whilst we are on the subject of things growing larger, take this into consideration when you are buying any plant, but especially trees. You might decide to create a small, sunny garden with a cherry tree in the middle. This will be fine for the first few years, but the tree will keep on growing and put all the other plants in the shade. You will have to go out and buy shade loving plants such as hostas and ferns to grow in the dimly lit garden instead, which would be totally the opposite to the original design (personally I like hostas and ferns which is just as well as it is north-facing)!

A good garden designer will listen to your ideas and then put them into a workable plan. There could be ideas that you have that will not work and a designer could advise you otherwise, saving you time and money. On the other hand if you are brave you can create your own ideas yourself, If they don’t work you can try something different. The only disadvantage in this is that you only have yourself to blame if something looks a bit daft. But whose judging anyway -it’s fun and a great way to learn! You can start on a small area of the garden first as implementing a design can be costly- more on this next week!

Next week we will look at how to get started with the plan. Your homework is to think of what you would like to include in your new garden and write it down.

Horticultural.

GARDEN DESIGN-PLANT USE

Photo: Magnolia flower

PLANTS USE IN THE GARDEN

Plants themselves can be important design elements, though few gardeners actually use them this way. If you have an artistic nature you can have great fun playing with where you put plants or how you prune them to bring out a certain look in your garden. The arching branches of a well-pruned cherry tree can frame an entire garden. The repetition of soft, grey-leaved plants or spiky foliage can be used as a theme in a long border. If you take the time to notice and experiment with the form, texture, and colour of plants, you will discover a whole new palette of design elements with which to work from.

This is a three-dimensional consideration that takes into account the shapes and volumes of the plants in your garden. A variety of different forms make a garden interesting, but too much diversity creates visual confusion. Trees and shrubs have characteristic forms that should be carefully combined to avoid clashing. Flowers, too, have characteristic shapes: the rounded heads of alliums, verbena, and globe thistle; the vertical spikes of delphinium, snapdragons, and veronica; and the strong architectural lines of a large cordyline. Experiment by grouping plants with the same form into a drift, or by repeating a pleasing composition of different forms several times.

Texture: Plants have a tactile quality that can be used as a valuable design tool. Think about how the glossy leaves of holly, magnolia, and roses contrast with the suede-like foliage of lamb's ears, heliotrope, and coleus. Or how the fat and fleshy leaves of a sedum differ from the needle-like foliage of rosemary or the quilted leaves of a blue-green hosta. Flowers also provide textural interest. They can be rich and velvety like a rose, or as thin and translucent as a poppy. Even tree bark contributes textural interest - especially during the winter months.

Colour: Entire books have been written about using colour as a design tool. You can approach colour as a technician, using the colour wheel to create harmonious combinations, or you can use your own eyes and emotions to guide you in creating the look and feel you want. Combining colours in new and interesting ways offers a lifetime of exciting possibilities.

As a general rule, red, orange and yellow are colours that jump out at you. They are lively and stimulating, and give the impression that they are closer to the eye than they actually are. If you plant too many hot-coloured flowers, and don't balance them with cool-coloured, less assertive plants, your garden will be a jumble of blaring trumpets. Green, blue, and violet are cool colours. In the garden these flowers create a more soothing, restful feeling, and tend to recede into the distance.

Horticultural.

GARDEN DESIGN-POINTS TO NOTE

POINTS TO NOTE WHEN DRAWING YOUR PLAN

What direction does the garden face (aspect) e.g. south facing.

Mark out the entrances and exits.

Check the soil type (pH) and assess the type of soil to see what plants would do well. E.g. sandy or peaty.

Note structures and outbuildings
Shed
Garage
Compost bin
Greenhouse
Washing line
Dog kennel
Others
Paths

Lawns

Flowerbeds and rockeries

Vegetable beds

Trees

Walls and trellis

Patio area

Does any rubbish need to be cleared and is the drainage good?



Horticulural.