Ladybird Love

People often say dogs are man’s best friend but not if he is a gardener. I reckon a gardener’s best friend has got to be the ladybird. I love them ‘cos:

a. They are pretty
b. They are fun to draw
c. They eat lots of bad bugs in the garden

In my latest blog I will regale you with lots of interesting facts on ladybirds, tips on how to encourage them into your garden as well as a cool craft project featuring our spotty friends. And I will even tell you about some funky ladybird flowers to grow…

Ladybug

Did you know:

There are over 5000 species of ladybirds worldwide.
Most ladybirds feed exclusively on aphids (greenfly, blackfly etc.) which is why we gardeners love them so much. They can eat up to 5000 in a life-time! That’s a bug banquet!
Ladybirds are more effective than poisonous chemicals.
Their vibrant colours not only make them pretty to us but also acts as warning to predators.
Not all ladybirds have spots – some have stripes!
A common myth is that the number of spots on a ladybird’s back indicates its age. The most common ladybird in the UK has seven spots.

How to encourage ladybirds into your garden:

So, we can see why we would want to have our little spotty friends in the garden, but how do we get them here?

Incorporate plants that ladybirds love into your garden. Plants such as tulips, lillies, fennel, dill, geraniums, angelica and cosmos are favourites.
Make a ladybird house and a ladybird feeder. We will blog about how to do this soon.
You can buy them online! Whatever next?! Wonder if you can add them to your grocery list?

You can also go one step further and have your very own ladybird inside the house. Here’s how…

Make Your Own Ladybird

You will need:

Paper plate
Card
Pipe cleaners
Googly eyes
Scissors
Glue
Red and black paint

To make:

1. Turn your paper plate upside down and paint it red and leave it to dry. Then paint a black line down the middle of the ladybird’s back.

Yay, painting is almost as much fun as gardening

2. Cut out some spots and a ladybird’s head from the card and paint them black and leave to dry. Glue on the ladybird’s head and spots.

I added seven spots to my ladybird, the
most commonly found type in the UK

3. Cut the pipe cleaners into six equal sizes and attach them onto the underside so three pop out on either side to make legs.

Add pipe cleaners to make the legs.

4. Glue on the googly eyes.

I do love a googly eye!

There you have it, your very own ladybird to enjoy whenever you want.

Hello little ladybug!

And if you want to add a splash of red with black spots to your garden, even when our friendly bugs are not around, sow some of these funky ladybird seeds in the garden. I will share images of what I have done with mine in weeks to come. It’s gonna involve some more funky upcycling!

I am gonna do something funky
involving upcycling with these seeds.

So, there you have it. All the why’s and how’s of having a ladybird in your life.

Hugs and kisses,

Lulu xxx

Do You Do Room Service?

Everyone likes a nice, comfy home and bugs are no different from the rest of us. Many are happy to set up home under a pile of leaves or logs. But why not go a step further and create your own bug version of Gleneagles in your very own back garden with a 5 Star Bug Hotel? Here’s how to make a bug hotel…

A stunning bug hotel from the Chelsea Flower Show

Many of us like to have a neat and tidy garden and by doing so we often eradicate the natural habitats bugs can call home. Or in a new garden with lots of hard landscaping and container planting there may be limited places for invertebrates to set up home. Bug hotels are purpose built structures which can be as simple or grand as you like.

A bug hotel on Seil Island with a green roof

Designing A Bug Hotel

The first rule of creating a bug hotel is to incorporate a variety of materials and different shapes and sizes of nooks and crannies. Different bugs have different requirements so in order to be diverse and encourage as much wildlife as possible into your garden make sure you use a wide array of materials. Offer everything from single rooms up to penthouse suites with a spa thrown in for good measure!

[[image:blog/blog-roomservice-3.jpg=A stunning bug hotel from the Chelsea Flower Show using lots of different materials]]

If you can, do a rough design of what you want your bug hotel to look like. Most bug hotels are made from reclaimed material thus making them cheap and easy to build as well as good for the environment. You could use some old pallets which are easy to get hold of to create the different layers of your bug hotel. Or if you are feeling adventurous you could create a real focal point in your garden by building a tower similar to the fantastic work of art at the Chelsea Flower Show a few years ago.

Building A Bug Hotel

Building a bug hotel is a wonderful project to build with children and you can encourage them to collect the materials you are going to use. Many of these you will have lying around the house and you can ask friends and family to donate to your hotel. Ideal materials include:

Bamboo canes
Egg cartons
Pieces of slate
Straw
Logs (drill the ends for even more places for bugs to set up home)
Broken terracotta pots
Old bricks
Old roof tiles

Pack the various materials into different sections of your “hotel” and soon you will have created a home which looks interesting and will have wide appeal.

A pallet incorporating a bug hotel at RHS Cardiff Show

Bug Central

So what sort of bugs might pack their bags and move into their new home? Well , common sights include mason bees, woodlice, ladybirds, spiders, beetles and centipedes. By encouraging these bugs into your garden they will help you combat the pests which eat your plants and ruin your grass. Great guests to have and ones which always be welcome back! Wonder if you get Trip Advisor for beetles…

Lots of bamboo canes make an ideal home

If you want advice on building a bug hotel or other ways of turning your garden into a haven for wildlife please get in touch.

For more information on making your own bug hotel please visit our blogs Make Your Own Bug Hotel and How To Make A Bug Hotel.

All at Vialii