companion plants

[Nigel Venters]

I think that you'll find that Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathcarticus) is only found
on Chalk soils...if you are on chalk ...no problem. It is a rare plant in
Ireland.
Nigel
----- Original Message -----
From: "Trevor Boyd" <boyd at glade12.fsnet.co.uk>
To: "Anne Kilmer" <viceroy at GATE.NET>; "Leps List" <leps-l at lists.yale.edu>
Sent: Saturday, May 04, 2002 8:23 AM
Subject: Re: companion plants


> 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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