St i n g i n g N e t t l e s
STINGING NETTLES By Local Resident Howard Vaughan Stinging nettles are a bit of a double edged sword in a garden. They can take over and once you have them then, well, you have them but in the right spot they are a great boon for wildlife of all sorts as well as having culinary, dye and even string making uses. When I dug up my little plot on Wednesday to plant my broad beans and beetroot in I had to remove a good tangle of tuberous Nettle roots most of which I put in my compost. However, I have also planted some in a big flower pot so that they can still grow and attract insects by the dozen. They tend to flop over if grown in isolation like this so make a stick and string frame in the pot to support them as they grow but you will need to keep them watered too!
My new patch
In full flower! They can get to about 1.5m high. I also have a patch of Nettles that are just fine where they are and they are already coming along just nicely and I hope to have Peacock butterfly caterpillars on them at some stage this spring. Nettlebugs will mysteriously appear and the flowers Peacock caterpillars and butterfly will attract hoverflies and some of the smaller bees.
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