Tuesday 3 June 2014

My Fledgling Garden

Over the past couple of months I have wanted to build a bug house in the garden. I have the perfect site for it, at the bottom of the garden in a rather neglected area between the bamboo and the californian lilac. There are two houses being built over the road from me, and today I finally plucked up the courage to ask if I could take a pallet and some plastic pipe off-cuts, as raw material for the project (and it would be free). I took Olly with me for moral support. They were happy for us to take what we wanted, which was very kind.

And so Olly and I came home begin work on a house for bugs.










I sawed the wooden pallet in half (my arm is still aching) and stacked one on top of the other. We then set about filling the plastic pipe off-cuts, cracked plastic flower pots and bricks with an assortment of dried leaves, straw, bark, bamboo canes cut into lengths, wood and broken pieces of terracotta pot. Everything came from the garden in one way or another. We even had a topping out ceremony, as Olly adorned the top of the bug house with a spinning windmill!

It took us a couple of hours to make, and apart from the sawing of the pallet, Olly was able to assist with the whole construction and assembly. We were both really pleased with the end result. We are going to make a sign. We thought 'Bug Hall' was a good name. And if you know me at all by now, you will have gathered that I am rather taken by the fact that our building is blue. I had my choice of pallets, but there really was no contest when I saw this beauty. Stylish and aesthetically pleasing, I think you will agree. Let's hope that the bugs do too.

Leanne xx


18 comments:

  1. Love it, and I'm sure the bugs will love it as well :)

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  2. Hi Leanne. What a cool thing to do with Olly. I wonder what bugs will come and live in this fab housing development? I am now thinking that I want one such bug house in my garden, too. Christina xx

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  3. I love that the pallet is blue!! I think that it looks great, and I hope that the bugs think that Bug Hall will be very popular with the new residents that come passing by looking for a home. Love the topping out ceremony windmill too! xx

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  4. I love your bug house (very glam) and how great to do it as a project with Olly (btw LOVE his hair- reminded me of L a few years back when his was longer than mine!!). Loved the Topping Out ceremony too! Never heard of that before, so that is my New Thing learnt for the day :-) x

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  5. Really like your bug house - a great project to do with Olly. It will be interesting to see what moves in :)

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  6. I absolutely love your 'minibeast mansion'; especially the blue colour - very stylish. I'm sure Olly had great fun making it and will have even more fun watching any new residents. x

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  7. I love the idea of this and would never have thought beyond a tiny little one. This is definitely the swankiest of all bug hotels.

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  8. What a fantastic idea! Please keep us posted as the "rooms" fill up with insects. It will be interesting to see what kind you get. :-)

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  9. Leanne, this is such a great idea! I've never seen one before now but I love the idea and the look of it. I am sure it will be a lot of fun and very educational for you all.

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  10. I love that idea Leanne. I am hoping to get my grandchildren to make one for me.

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  11. That's a wonderful and fun project to do with Olly, you have both made it look so good! I'm sure all the bugs in St Ives will be heading in it's direction. I share your admiration for that blue pallet! Sarah x

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  12. The perfect Des Res for a bug!

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  13. A beautiful blue pallet, the bug hotel building gods were shining down on you that day! It's brilliant, lucky you finding the free stuff. Of course, you'll have to go back again and get one for the allotment too now... How's it going down there? I hope you're enjoying your little piece of land. CJ xx

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  14. What a brilliant idea! I've seen bug houses for sale but your upcycled pallet is much better! BigR is going through a phase of being scared of bugs/insects/snails/spiders but I'm having none of it. I try to remind her she's huge in comparison which is why they scuttle about so quickly. I can't say I like slugs much myself (!) especially after the damage they do to my plants. I hope you get lots of bug visitors to their home soon

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  15. What a wonderful bug house and such a lovely thing to do together. I'm sure Olly will love watching what moves in there. xx

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  16. What a bloody brilliant bug house! I love it, it's got a nice coastal chic, organic vibe about it. ;-) And a great way to involved kids in gardening too, Ollie looks like he's loving it. xx

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  17. What a fabulous apartment complex for bugs! I'm sure they'll move in in droves.

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  18. Less a bug house, more a bug palace ... what a brilliant idea :)

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