Ground-ivy (Glechoma hederacea)

A common spring wildflower, found beside verges, hedgerows and gardens around Chippenham. Despite its name, it is more closely related to mint than ivy. It was once used in place of hops to flavour beer due to its pleasant aroma. 

Ground-ivy is very popular with pollinators, especially bees, and the leaves are eaten by moth species. They are also edible, and can be made into tea, so it is worth tolerating in your garden. 

April 2025

The dark-edged bee-fly (Bombylius major) is a common and noisy fly that can be seen on sunny spring days feeding from flowers such as Aubretia and Pulmonaria (lungwort).

Their larvae live in the nests of solitary bees, and feed on the bees' larvae. Don't worry though, the numbers are limited by the numbers of their hosts. More bee-flies = more bees!

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