My BBC Springwatch SOS Wildflower Trough (5) - Pollinators!

My patience has been rewarded with spring flowers and pollinators. There were a number of bees and Marmalade Hoverflies around the wildflower trough today - a joy to see!

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And finally, just to add a bit more color to this post, these last three pictures were taken today and show an insect, probably a bee of some kind, making use of the insect hotels...

We have small swarms of cockchafers around the silver birch for the last few evenings and a few bats. There have been moths in and out of the window.

My BBC Springwatch SOS Wildflower Trough (4) - First Flowers

I am delighted to report that the first pollinators like the bee above are visiting my wildflower trough.

I have to say, though, that the flowers thus far bare no resemblance (as far as I can tell) to the pictures on the seed box! This charlock/mustard/oilseed rape-like plant is very tall, far too tall to stay upright in the windy conditions. When a stalk topples over, it takes any number of more delicate plants with it, which is a shame, particularly since most of these are barely in bud yet.

There have been a number of these bugs, which, thanks to the kind people on iSpot, I now know is a Cabbage Bug (Eurydema (Eurydema) oleracea).

You can just make out my trough up against the trellis, behind the Begonias and Nasturtiums. Those yellow flowers must be a metre high. 

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My BBC Springwatch SOS Wildflower Trough (3)

You can see from the photo above, taken this afternoon, just how my wild flower seedlings have grown. There are some buds, and I am keeping a watchful eye on these as it will be good to see the first flower. The trough is my response to the BBC Springwatch S.O.S. project to try to encourage pollinators into the garden. 

The insects, it appears, are not so impatient. I always enjoy seeing Marmalade Hoverflies in the garden. This is the first one I have seen in my trough. These insects are not only good pollinators but their larvae are also useful aphid-eaters.

The photo above shows a Ladybird, unfortunately a succinea Harlequin (Harmonia axyridis), on one of the shoots that is likely to produce the first flowers. It will eat the aphids, but it is not the most welcome of guests.

As I looked around the trough, I noticed a tight ball on the nasturtiums...

... and recognised these Garden Spider spiderlings as we have had clutches of them in the garden on previous years. They are orb-weavers, and the second part of their name, 'diadematus', reflects their jewel like appearance. I hope they won't eat too many of our butterflies, but I find it hard to be so concerned about the wasps and flies that will also make up their diet as they grow.

They dispersed later in the day, making their way over the trough and out into the big wide world.

My trough at the outset prior to wildflower seed-sowing

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Home Patch, with (SOS Springwatch) Wildflower Trough

It is lovely to see more insects appearing, and this is one of the creatures I saw this morning during a sunny spell before the cloud built up. Judging by the length of the antennae, it must, I think, be a juvenile Cricket (my thanks to Conehead54 for the helpful information that this is a Dark Bush-cricket nymph - just in case you missed this in the Comments below).

This ?ornamental Hawthorn is looking particularly colourful at the moment. It overhangs our garden, adding a splash of crimson and white.

Our Nasturtiums have sprouted and will hopefully produce some more bright colours. I always find myself a bit torn because I love the caterpillars that they attract, but there is a certain sense of sadness if the plants are eaten before they have reached their full potential!

The two photographs immediately above show how my wildflower trough is coming on. It would probably be best to thin the plants a bit, but I may leave them this year and see what happens. I am looking forward to the first flowers in the hope that pollinating insects will be attracted into our garden.

I see from my post here that on 10 April, just over a month ago, tiny green shoots were starting to appear. I wonder what the trough will look like in a month's time. I hope there will be some flowers long before then.