Helping – the globe
“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.” – Edmund Burke
I do appreciate a good quote and the one above captures the essence of much inertia when it comes to taking action. A lot has been written about the impact of modern life on our planet with many conservation and campaign groups working tirelessly to bring about awareness and positive changes to the way we live. All too often we see the amount of work being put in by these groups and perceive the change brought about as small in comparison and, by extension, we end up dismissing what small efforts we might make as meaningless in the grand scheme.
In contrast, the concept of “marginal gains” is the idea by which the smallest of improvements, when combined, can have significant impacts. The beauty of marginal gains is the very fact that they are small, often easy steps which are easily achievable. Apply this philosophy to improving biodiversity and habitats and we can, combined, have a bigger positive impact while also having some fun along the way.
One of my “marginal gains” approaches is to improve my own little bit of greenspace in ways that benefit pollinators while also making it more appealing to the eye, another great thing is that is doesn’t need to cost a fortune! My latest project involves harvesting some of the many wildflower seeds that are easily and freely available in order to grown my own ‘pollinator pleasing plants’, in this case the beautiful globe thistle.
Seed head harvest
At the end of summer there is an abundance of seed heads readily available for harvest. the first step is simply and carefully to cut a few heads and store them in a cool, dry place until the spring at which time the seeds can be removed from the heads.
Seed Extraction and Sowing
Seed extraction is probably the trickiest bit to avoid the spiky prickles!
Carefully and gently prise open each seed head to reveal the feathery seeds. I find it’s easier to do this over some white paper to help keep track of the seeds.
Seeds can be sown indoors from around the end of February and, with a small amount of care, they can bringing life to the garden later in the year.
Globe thistles are tough, perennial plants which means they require little by way of looking after though, to avoid them taking over the garden, it may be prudent to remove future heads.
Globe thistles may not be everyone’s cup of tea but there are many other simple ways of applying “marginal gains” to make a difference, if you’re still not convinced to do so here’s another of my favourite quotes…
“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it. ” – Robert Swan
As a wildlife photographer a wildlife-friendly garden also give me easy access to a growing number of species to photograph. Good for me and good for nature makes it a win-win 😀.