16
intermedia; the rockery stones Schistidium
apocarpum and Orthotrichum diaphanum, and the
bare soil Dicranella staphylina, Fissidens
taxifolius and bryoides and Bryum bicolor
and rubens, whilst Brachythecium velutinum -
far better than boring old grass - flourishes in
the lawn and the pond and its margins have
attracted Amblystegium ribarium and Barbula
cylindrica.
The plants have been fun, but other wildlife
has been slow to colonise the garden, or
perhaps I'm being impatient. It often
surprises me how friends who live in towns like
Rainham or Pitsea attract far more butterflies
and other insects into their gardens than me
even though I live close to the open
countryside. Perhaps the proximity of the
Thames-side marshes works in their favour.
One such friend, who was digging a pond in his
garden, looked up from his labours to discover
two Frogs perched on the rim of the hole urging
him to put more muscle into it ..... The only
Frog hereabouts - found in a neighbour's garden
— hopped determinedly away from my pond as fast
as its juicy looking legs could carry it.
It does not do to quibble. The creation of
the garden has been a lot of fun and I've had
my successes: six species of Bumble Bee and
three Cuckoo Bees in 1989, compared with only
one of each the year before, and flying visits
from a dozen different butterflies, including
Brimstone, Holly Blue and Painted Lady. A
Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly displayed a brief
interest in the pond one afternoon, as did an
unidentified 'hawker' a couple of weeks later;