I've won a prize!

A few weeks ago Matron celebrated her 600th blogpost by teaming up with The RHS for a competition to promote biodiversity in the garden. She asked her blog readers to write just 100 words on what you are doing in your garden to promote biodiversity. She said that she didn't want doom and gloom, neither did she want a political rant – just a nice, gentle, uplifting, innovative, clever, creative, inspiring 100 words.

Matron's blog Down on the Allotment is one of my favourites, it is down to earth with a good dollop of humour and her faithful dog Buddy is never far from the action. I hesitated for a week or so, then one evening I sat down and jotted down a few thoughts . . . 100 words isn't very many to describe my garden and all the plants, insects, birds and animals that live there. In the end, this is what I wrote:

"A newt doesn’t just need water – it needs bugs to feeds on; a water forget-me-not leaf to fold around its egg; and logs and stones to hide under in the winter.

So here’s my pact:

No weed-killers and pesticides;
Nectar rich flowering plants;
A half buried log pile and bundles of dry hollow stems;
Seed-heads left on the plants through the winter;
A small pond surrounded by log piles and a bog garden;
Wild-flowers mingling in the borders and lawn.

And the wildlife has moved in… hundreds of inter-connected life-cycles; we’re relying on each other to thrive."


To my utter amazement my entry was selected as the winner! Thank you Matron and thank you to The RHS . . . look at all the exciting things that fell out of the package that arrived in the post this morning! As well as a full year's membership of The RHS (which includes a free pass to all the RHS gardens and subscription to The Garden magazine) there were postcards, vouchers to spend in the RHS shops and at Thompson and Morgan and two packets of seeds. What a lovely way to start the day :-)