Although the mornings are frosty and the puddles are frozen there are still some amazingly hardy flowers that refuse to die back. The snapdragons are particularly colourful and it makes me think that there is a little area of Summer just behind the Nectar Bar where the frost daren’t go. The lavender is still looking good and the scabiosa has been a garden star! Even the little sunflowers are still trying to produce new heads but the bees and butterflies are no longer around to appreciate this effort.
A start has been made to the Insect Hotel – it needs a lot more packing material and the roof is just propped on at the moment but I’ve opened the doors as a little haven to anything with more that four legs!
I’ve already seen some spiders and earwigs (eeek!!) so I hope business will be brisk this Winter. As long as the clients don’t mind some construction work over the next couple of weekends I’m sure they’ll enjoy their stay!
The Pyjama Gardener 
I think insect hotels are things of beauty ! A lovely idea – we were stacking the firewood delivery today, which always seems to have lots of creepy crawlies, oh and th etoads seem to hibernate over winter under the wood – obviously a good place for snacking 🙂
I feel sorry fo all the Bonfire Night victims… toads and hedgehogs that decide to get a crafty meal and nice warm bed and then someone sets their new found home on fire!
My insect hotel (currently unrated) still needs a lot of work doing on it but I think I’m fussier than the bugs x
Luckily this stack o ffirewood is destined for our wood burner, so the wood is there all year round for the creatures 🙂
Ok – I’m really not following this Insect Hotel thingy – Can you explain, please. I’m curious .
Ha ha 🙂 I’m not as crazy as my post probably sounds! These are structures designed to offer shelter to beneficial insects such as solitary bees, butterflies, ladybirds, spiders and other creepy crawlies. Most people are too tidy in their gardens or have made them so low maintenance that the beneficial bugs have nowhere to live. I thought I’d do my fair share to help the wildlife… because they certainly help me!
I hope this has helped Claudia x
Quite – went back to you earlier posts – you have a town house, and a skyscraper !- Thanks – Just never had heard of this before.
I’m beginning to think you live in a different climate zone – my dahlias have been hit by frost and are now looking very sad. Inspired by your last post about bug houses, I got the school gardening club to build a ‘hotel’. It’s nothing very fancy, but may provide some shelter for some tolerant (the kids like to check regularly to see if there is anything there) bugs over the winter!
It’s around -2.0c when I leave for work in the mornings but I think that the Kitchen Garden is well protected because it has lovely brick walls on two sides, it faces south and the beds are raised.
I love the fact that the children regularly peek in at the insect hotel… it must look like giant peeping toms!!
Oh PJ, your tumble of snaps are so perfectly disheveled. That picture belongs in Country Living Magezine. I like the coral colored ones with pink tips. I planted Yellow ones in my basket this year and they too, lasted till the bitter end. Even thru the first couple of frosts. I will never tire of them and I love the scent so much. That’s a cute little heart sign you’ve posted at the Hotel, who could resist? Good Luck with the clientelle.
You’re too kind Boomdee…. I LOVE Country Living Magazine and drool over their pictures so thank you for such a wonderful compliment 🙂
I’m hoping to attract the faeries as well as the bugs… every little helps in the gardening department!
Nice to see your hotel coming along nicely – I have seen some lovely examples particularly at Pensthorpe. At the moment mine consists of a few terracotta draining pipes but I’m hoping to improve on this eventually, we do have a log pile though, that houses all sorts of scurrying beetley things, trouble is, it diminishes as the winter progresses – I’ll just have to send all my insects over to your place.
I know what you mean Elaine – our wood pile is full of life and it’s such a shame to disturb it when we want logs for the fire! I also have lots of building material around the place (bricks, slate and gravel) and the bugs just love moving in 🙂
A fantastic addition to your garden. I’m looking forward to seeing what takes of up residence.
Thanks Mary – luckily we don’t have any scarey, biting bugs here! I still squeal if something unexpectedly scuttles up my arm though 😉
I’m assuming you’ve put up a sign that states the rules. No loud music. Absolutely no hair dye in the sinks. Lights out at 10. Right? How does one check for bed bugs?? 😉
No rules yet as I’m hoping my guests will be of a more refined nature. The concierge will ensure that their needs are fully met and will also warn those individuals that party too hard!
Bed bugs are an added perk 😉 LOL!!
That turned out really cute! love the home sweet home sign. hilarious!!
Thanks 🙂 It will be much better when I have gathered more bug friendly materials x
I am afraid I prefer to keep my garden nice and tidy and I haven’t got space for a bug hotel, but my neighbours on both side seems to be having a competition about keeping the most untidy garden so the bugs have a haven wherever they turn! My neighbour to the left is winning by a mile at the moment, they have been building an extension for the last year and the garden is filled with all sorts of building material and rubbish….ugh!
Oh no! It’s frustrating when others neglect their patches – it would be the weeds infiltrating my garden from the other sides that would bother me most!
Organic gardening means that I need to attract as many allies as possible because slug pellets, pesticides and weed killers are banned. I also have small attractive ladybird houses and lacewing shelters on the walls that take up little room and look quite pretty.
The snapdragons look lovely. There was a hard frost here last weekend which saw off my dahlias and cosmos so most of my flowers have finished now. I love that insect hotel. It would have pride of place in my garden, might give one a go myself.
Thanks Annie! There was a hard frost here this morning so I’m making the most of the flowers 🙂