companion plants

[Trevor Boyd]

Dear Anne,

I think I remember seeing your compost/nettle patch a couple of years ago
when we visited.  A valuable asset indeed for all sorts of wildlife.  I hear
that there is a move in England to allow garden composting only under
licence.  Lucky you are in Ireland.  The English can be odd - they have
locked up in prison someone who recovered lost golf balls and sold them on.
Can you beat it?

Back to your nettle patch and what to plant in it.  My first suggestion is
Buckthorn, the foodplant of the Brimstone butterfly larvae, either Purging
Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) which is thorny, or Alder Buckthorn (Frangula
alnus) which is not thorny.  Both are native plants and the fruits may be
used for dyeing or as a purgative.  Other suggestions are the Spindle Tree
(Euonymous europaeus), Guelder Rose (Viburnum opulus) and Mountain Ash
(Sorbus acuparia), all native plants.  By all means plant some Hollyhocks as
well, but they will need support in the Irish winds.

Good luck,

Trevor Boyd (Butterfly Conservation)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Anne Kilmer" <viceroy at GATE.NET>
To: "Leps List" <leps-l at lists.yale.edu>
Sent: Friday, May 03, 2002 7:56 AM
Subject: companion plants


> My compost-heap/nettle patch (in Ireland) has just been mowed, and is
> therefore, for the moment, amenable to a spot of gardening. I was
> thinking I'd like to put in some sort of flowering host or nectar plant
> that might hold its own among the nettles, enjoy the rich soil, and not
> mind too much if the neighbor who mangles my garden in my absence
> scythes it again next winter.
> I was thinking I might buy some year-old hollyhocks and tuck them in ...
> they'd be tall and strong enough to take care of themselves.
> If there were a native perennial or low-growing shrub that would enjoy
> this sunny spot, and the company of nettles, of course I'd prefer that.
> Whatever it is, once planted, it will get no help from me. Ow.
> Your thoughts?
> Anne Kilmer
> Mayo, Ireland
>
>
>
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