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(Evolution, Behaviour and Environment) at the University of Sussex) published by Jonathan Cape. Copyright c Dave Goulson, 2019. Reprinted by permission of the Random House Group Ltd. Photographs from SCAN member and Birch Tree Project co-founder, Helen Mason.

VIPER’S BUGLOSS, Echium vulgate A stunning biennial wild flower ...,flowering in July and August and absolutely loved by bees of all types for its copious nectar.’ - These extracts are from ‘The Garden Jungle’ by Dave Goulson (Professor of Biology

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SNEEZEWORT, Helenium ...attractive daisy-like flowers on tall stems,glowing oranges and reds which are very popular with bees of all sizes... THYME,Thymus polytrichus subspecies.Britannicus ....attracts hover flies and honeybees in abundance.A lovely,low-growing,rambling perennial...

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PUSSY WILLOW, Salix caprea Native trees....very important sources of food for queen bumblebees and many early solitary mining bees...best to grow a male SICILIAN HONEY GARLIC,Allium siculum ...Allium are attractive to pollinators...cream-and-magenta flowers that drip with nectar in early summer

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LUNGWORT, Pulmonaria A great very early-spring nectar resources for hungry queen bumblebees...easy perennial to grow... MARJORAM,Origanum vulgate. A great all- rounder,easy to grow,attractive to heaps of...pollinators,and good for cooking too!...

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GIANT HYSSOP, Agastache foeniculum A great perennial for bees...needs a well- drained soil...spikes of blue flowers in summer LAVENDER, Lavendula intermedia, Gros blue’ No garden is complete without lavender,....However...English lavender (L.angustifolia) is less attractive to pollinators,..

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FIELD SCABIOUS, Knautia arvensis Lovely native meadow perennial,...powder-puff blue...Flowers in July and August MEADOW CRANESBILL,Geranium pratense Most hardy Geranium species are good for bees...this beautiful native...is at home in a flower bed or naturalised into grassland.

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COMFREY,Symphytum officinale, very hardy perennial,will look after itself...very long flowering period...one of the very best plants for bees...can also be chopped down...to make excellent compost DAHLIA‘Bishop of Llandaff’ ...open varieties like this one can be fantastic magnets for bumblebees...

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CATMINT, Nepeta racemosa, sprawling, robust perennial plant, lilac flowers late spring to late summer. N.x faasenii ‘Six Hills Giant’ good for long-tongued bees. PLUME THISTLE,Cirisium rivulare ‘Atropurpureum’ Great plant for male bumblebees in high summer...Flowers July to September,up to 1m high

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will almost certainly have cuttings. Plants from garden centres can carry pesticide residue. Comfrey is blooming now all over Saltdean.) ‘BUSH VETCH,Vicia sepium ...climbing perennial carries small purple flowers through late spring and summer and is constantly alive with the hum of carder bees

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‘My 16 favourite garden plants for pollinators’ In case you’re wondering what to plant, apart from trees, in your Sussex garden, Dave Goulson, Professor of Biology (Evolution, Behaviour and Environment) at the University of Sussex), has some recommendations, as follows. (Remember, your neighbours

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Just over a week to our new Greener Deans Eco Fair held in conjunction with our always popular Deans Repair Café. New venture, new venue ... St Nicholas church hall, Saltdean Vale. 10.30-3 pm (fixing to 12.30) Repairs, upcycling, info, crafts (kids & adults), refreshments. Free entry, some charges

had some impact.’ Extracts are from ‘The Garden Jungle’ by Dave Goulson published by Jonathan Cape. Copyright c Dave Goulson, 2019. Reprinted by permission of the Random House Group Ltd.Photographs from SCAN member and Birch Tree Project co-founder, Helen Mason.

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worms would do almost nothing, millions of worms together can transform soil health... 'What is really important is how much food they have, how much organic matter there is in the soil...gardens seem to be very good places for worms,...arable farmland is not so good...pesticides are likely to have

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also among the preferred snacks of many mammals, from shrews to foxes, badgers and bears.Their role in creating compost, aerating soil and providing food for hungry animals would not be particularly significant if it were not for the fact that worms can be staggeringly abundant....a few

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soil. Each worm is capable of producing up to 4.5 kg of nutrient- rich casts each year...a lot of prime compost for your plants to grow in. 'Aside from their long-recognised and vital role in maintaining soil health, worms...form a significant part of the diet of numerous garden birds...(and) are

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enzymes...into a fine paste which is eventually excreted. '...Studies have found that fresh earthworm casts are five times richer in available nitrogen, seven times richer in available phosphates, and eleven times richer in available potassium than the surrounding upper six inches (150mm) of

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food both for humans and everything else with which we share the planet. '...Worms eat decaying organic matter, such as compost, fallen leaves, the bodies of small animals and fungal material....This then gets ground up in their crop with the help of mineral particles...and digestive

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to the health of our eco-systems and to human well-being than are bees ...these lowly creatures perform an unglamorous but vital job in keeping our soils healthy and recycling dead organic matter; without them, crops and wild plants would grow much more slowly, and ultimately there would be less

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SCAN @saltdeancan.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Encouraging worms Dave Goulson (Professor of Biology (Evolution, Behaviour and Environment) at the University of Sussex), makes a strong case for encouraging earth worms. (Part 3 of our Jungle Garden series.) Dave says: ’Arguably worms may be more important

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Alongside our next free Repair Café (donations welcome) 13 June, is our 'Greener Deans' Eco Fair 10.30 am - 3 pm All sorts of stalls, offering advice, crafts to try, plants & trees to purchase. Lots will be free, incl entry, but some stallholders will be charging. Refreshments available too.

These extracts are from ‘The Garden Jungle’ by Dave Goulson published by Jonathan Cape. Copyright c Dave Goulson, 2019. Reprinted by permission of the Random House Group Ltd. Photographs from SCAN member and Birch Tree Project co-founder Helen Mason. Below: a log pile in Gill's garden in Saltdean

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potting up container plants and growing tomatoes. '...Log piles lock up carbon for as long as it takes them to decay...studies found that a small pile of birch logs supported an average of 90 different individual creatures after 23 months.’ Next week: There's a worm at the bottom of my garden

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four years or more to break down... 'I find it bewildering that the large majority of people in suburbia do not compost their waste... you create a home for millions of tiny creatures, and you get a ready supply of free compost to fertilise your garden. Mixed with a little sand it is perfect for

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pile of organic matter will eventually become compost...I have eight compost heaps dotted about my garden, three plastic composters and five big cubic ones I made by crudely screwing old wooden pallets together... because I only dig out one or two each year the waste in each one gets a good

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The Garden Jungle, Part Two - make friends with 'rubbish' Find a place to keep your garden 'rubbish' like cuttings and bits of wood - it will repay you in compost and habitat for beneficial insects. More advice from Dave Goulson: ‘Creating compost is incredibly easy...any

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Dave Goulson published by Jonathan Cape. (C) Dave Goulson, 2019. Reprinted by permission of the Random House Group Ltd. Photographs from SCAN member and Birch Tree Project co-founder Helen Mason.

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photographed: 1 One of Saltdean’s jungle inhabitants - the hummingbird hawkmoth on wild Valerian. 2 Members of SCAN and the Birch Tree Project planting rescued birch trees at St Martin's church, Longridge Avenue. Next week: Dave on easy compost and log piles Extracts from ‘The Garden Jungle’ by

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growing a tree where there didn’t used to be one, locks up carbon every year the plant is getting larger. The basic rule is that the more bulk of vegetation you have, the more carbon you are storing... and the more vegetation you have the more insect diversity you will have, too.’ Pictures Helen

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SCAN @saltdeancan.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

Advice from local man and inspiring author, Dave Goulson, Professor of Biology (Evolution, Behaviour and Environment) at Sussex University. Extracts are taken from his absorbing, authoritative, easy to read book 'The Garden Jungle'. Dave says: ’Most gardeners don’t have room for large trees [but]

A hummingbird hawkmoth feeding, with its long proboscis, on wild pink Valerian; its wings move so quickly that it 'hums'.

Members of Saltdean Climate Action Network and the Birch Tree Project planting Birch trees at St Martin's Church, Saltdean. Wild violets in the grass are in the foreground.

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Petition for a Funded National Strategic Adaptation Plan helping communities be more resilient in the face of climate change. Pls sign & share this it's *so* important... petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73... We can get to 10k by end Dec if we share = trigger a response from the govt. 🌍 Thank you

petition.parliament.uk