MArsh AREA
Marsh area
The marsh area changes with the seasons, in winter there is the steady flow of a stream running across the meadow field.The marsh areas support a multitude of marginal plants including marsh marigold, water mint and flag iris. The grasses around the marsh area are of many different varieties. The grasses change as they go from short, bright green shoots to hay coloured stems in the summer. Reeds grow in the wettest areas, popping up wherever they can.
Devon Bat project
In 2018, 2019 and 2020 we took part in the Devon Bat Project, for 3 days we had a bat monitor in our orchard area which recorded all the different species of bat in the area. The report states that we had visits by ten different species of bat, including the common pipistrelle, soprano pipistrelle, noctule, brown long eared bat, daubenton's bat, serotine, whiskered or brandt's, myotis species, lesser horseshoe... More details of this exciting project can be found on the website http://devonbatproject.org/ The photo above shows the bat boxes installed on the wall of the house, in March 2018. Thanks to the A Rocha ‘Partners in Action’ scheme we were able to add an additional bat box and purchase a bat detector (which can be borrowed by visitors).
WILD FLOWER MEADOW
The gardens are constantly evolving, with many additional plants to attract bees, butterflies and other insect. We introduced our first bee hive in April 2019 and beekeeping has been a sharp learning curve. We do have our own honey to enjoy and we are members of the Tavistock Beekeepers Association. Each year we observe many different species of butterfly, moth, damselfly and dragonfly across the meadow. In 2019 we invested in a meadow mower which we use to encourage the wild flowers in the meadow field. In 2021 we attended several webinars run by Moor Meadows, to learn more about ‘Conservation Grazing’ and we now use our sheep to manage the meadows, in addition to the meadow mower. In 2023 we observed the following butterflies: Peacock, Comma, Red Admiral, Orange Tip, Small Tortoiseshell, Small White, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Speckled Wood.