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Introduction: Firstly it is important to point out that habitat fragmentation is an expansive subject, and extensive documentation can be found. Additionally it is important to appreciate that there are other ecological concepts linked with understanding habitat fragmentation. For example, the terms you will come across on the subject include: ecological niche, dispersal rates, habitat corridors, and edge effects.
Where to begin: Firstly what is an ecological niche? The concept of an ecological niche is actually not that complex, once you have a grasp on where the animal or plant lives, and how it interacts within its community. In other words the food/nutrients it needs, or the shelter it needs, which will be unique to that species. That in essence is its ecological niche.  It is in this respect that niche and habitat are not the same, because many different species can share a habitat, however this is not true of a niche.
To find out more about this fascinating subject follow: Darwin’s Speciation Theory & Speciation.
What is habitat fragmentation? the term habitat fragmentation is focused on the disruption of large continuous chunks of habitat, which have become divided and subdivided into smaller ‘fragments’ of habitat, which are either…

Garden styles, layouts and contents have continually changed throughout the history of garden design, in terms of their structure and the plants used.
If you look carefully you can identify a series of noticeable trends within garden design which seem to get recycled and re-invented over time. In fact the majority if not all of what we would class as modern trends within garden design are borrowed ideas from the past.
Some ideas and concepts seem to lie dormant or just tick along in the background relatively unnoticed.  However sometimes when the time is right, and the idea and concept(s) have been marketed in the right way, these ‘ideas’ can be seen as innovative, and take the world by storm. It is in this manner that they become known as a modernistic trend or movement.

Over the last 60 years or so there has been a noticeable trend for sustainable, organic, and more specifically wildlife gardening.  This trend for wildlife gardening is increasingly popular particularly in the western world.
As a complete contrast to the neat well organised garden spaces of a more traditional garden style, the preference for allowing nature to run its course is becoming widely accepted and…

We all remember the winter of 2010, we all had to endure one of the coldest Decembers on record. However in contrast, the winter of 2011 has become known for being really mild, in fact 2011 has been recorded as the second warmest winter on record, with the warmest winter being recorded in 1988-1989.
The clash of the spring flowers
It has been suggested that the rise in winter temperatures may also affect the fate of our beloved native Bluebell. The British Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) is an iconic spring flower.  For many of us seeing a woodland displaying a carpet of bluebells is a sure indicator that summer is finally here.
If the UK experiences consecutively warmer winters, other plant species will grow earlier therefore be competing with the bluebells by swamping them for light.
For example plants such as Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) and Cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) have evolved to be rather temperature sensitive. They have a simple tactic whereby they delay their leaf formation until the following spring. The warmer winters have enabled these species to begin leaf growth much earlier than normal, therefore bluebells and snowdrops will be competing with these plants for both light and nutrients. This means…

Back in October 2011 we decided to install our Wildflower Roof Turf on one of our containers here at the farm.
It was a really simple process… first we installed a couple of wooden posts inside the container, to provide additional structural strength and support. Secondly a waterproof membrane was placed on top of the container.
Drainage was a consideration because you do not want pools of water to sit on the roof. The container already had a slight pitch which was sufficient. Providing good drainage will also help to keep the grasses in check, because they favour wetter conditions, whereas the wildflowers prefer drier conditions.
The Wildflower Roof Turf was easy to install, here is how we did it…
Directly on top of the waterproof membrane we installed substrate sacks. These are easy to manage and contain an inert, ph modified, low nutrient compost based growing medium, perfect for the Wildflower Turf to bed into.
Once the sacks have been installed it is at this point, that in most instances screeding is carried out, which involves applying a thin layer of loose substrate over the top of the sacks.
The advantage of screeding: it fills the gaps between the sacks, leveling the substrate…

We like to keep in touch with our clients, and that means finding out how their projects have developed, as well as how our Wildflower Turf is getting on.
Additionally it is also a way of providing support and after care, which we feel is very important, because we are here to help and advise where we can. We are also keen to learn and expand on our existing pool of knowledge.
Here are just a few examples of some of our client’s projects, which have all added biodiversity to their sites from just installing our Wildflower Turf. These projects also illustrate the diverse application of our Wildflower Turf…

First two images top left: Treesaurus have shown innovation in their design of this bike store for a garden in London. This project illustrates that by installing just a few square metres of Wildflower Roof Turf you can have both an aesthetically pleasing and functional storage facility. Once summer arrives the roof will be in full bloom and buzzing with bees and pollinating insects!
Top right image: This garden highlights how you can easily encourage foot traffic by mowing a path through the wildflower meadow. The meadow blends into the surrounding landscape providing a…

ICB (International Construction Bureau) Limited, have set up a display using our Wildflower Roof Turf on their permanent rig, which is on location at their new office in Poole.

As you can see from the photos it provides ideas and scenarios for green roof projects, illustrating the use of gravel for edging, drainage, as well as additional features such as railings.

As you can see from these pictures the turf is looking very green and healthy showing its resilience during the winter months…

Photos provided by Mick Smith the Regional Technical Sales Manager.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year!

From the team at Wildflower Turf Limited

Seaview Primary, Seaham, Co.Durham
Chris Dodds Garden Design & Construction were asked to transform an area made up of mainly worn out lawn at Seaview Primary School.

The area as it was, looked very bare and stark, so there was not much incentive for the children to enjoy this outdoor space, as the picture above illustrates.
Firstly it was necessary to clear away the dead shrubs and grass. Secondly some additional paving next to a walk-in play sand pit was installed, along with some bark pathways.
Last but not least… The last part of the project was to lay 52m² of Wildflower Turf. Chris commented, “despite only being laid in July 2011, the new turf quickly established and has provided colour and interest right up to Christmas.”

Turf…Although the initial cost of turf is higher than seed, with Wildflower Turf you are guaranteed a meadow without the need for too much work. The meadow is established the day the turf is laid.
We can also provide you with details of what to expect and how to manage the area, thanks to years of experience and expertise here at Wildflower Turf Limited.

Seed… Although the initial cost is lower, the time between seeding and being able to enjoy a wildflower meadow is not only long,  but additionally because seeding is less reliable, the risk of failure is considerably high. Added to this the fact that in order to achieve a meadow by seed, a great deal of work is required….the decision is quite an easy one. Turf over seed any day!

Please ring 01256 771222 and we will be happy to discuss your project with you.

We can also…

A few weeks ago we posted a blog asking if anyone could identify a little beetle we had filmed and photographed on our Wildflower Turf back in September.
Here is a reminder of what the bug looked like…

Thanks to David Plunton from Dean Rural Services we now believe that it is a shield bug! David thinks that it is a Gorse Shieldbug (Piezodorus literatus) to be precise. David is investigating further to confirm his theory.
It would seem that this is actually the shield bug nymph and not the adult shield bug, which incidentally looks quite different.
Did you know…Although shield bugs resemble beetles, they differ because they have sucking mouthparts instead of mandibles.
How may species are there? In Britain there are 4 different families of Shieldbug;
Acanthosomatidae,
Cydnidae,
Scutelleridae, and
Pentatomidae.
This means that the number of species that can be found in the UK is about 45…worldwide however, there may be over 5000 species!
Unlike butterflies and moths which undergo ‘complete’ metamorphosis, shield bugs hatch from the egg as small simple forms of the adult.
In order to accommodate a larger body…