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                         a   S T A M M E R  project              

2010 April 16 to 22

When we climbed up the roof to have a close look at the vegetation, the first time in weeks, we were baffled by its appearance. The Sedum and Sempervivum  (‘sown’, with cuttings) and also Alyssum alyssoides (spontaneous) have grown very well, to surprising aesthetic effect. The recent abundant rainfall will be partly responsible for this. On the other hand, it was striking not to see many grasses or other pioneering plants in the available areas. This seems to indicate that the substrate of barely 6 cm of soil  only permits the development of succulent plants, creating the aspect of a desert rock garden. It’s a pity that this vegetation can not be appreciated so well at ground level.


Given the fact that it was installed only one year ago, it becomes clear that a green roof can be installed with relatively few means in a short time.
Because of this success, here a somewhat more extensive graphical report about the green roof, also because it permits nice views over the present state of the different fortifications and the vegetation on the terrain.

Green roof.
Looking north.
17 Apr 12:55

Green roof.
Looking west.
18 Apr 12:52

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Sedum species are incredibly tough and resistant to drought, heat, frost and wind. The image on the right shows how the even throw out their roots in the open air in search of substrate.

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When he arrived, Fito, the poodle of our friend Foncho, went wild with joy, running and rolling over the terrain and within minutes he was covered with thorns and seeds of all kinds of plants, so he needed an immediate haircut. The funny thing was that in no time some Tits discovered the cut hairs on the ground and took them to their nests under construction, as we could verify later on when we inspected two nest boxes.

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The construction of our ‘nest’ was limited to some final touches to the outer walls of the house and preparations for the last plaster layer. The layer will be smooth and to avoid cracks 75% sand is added to the clay (25%; no straw is used). We like the colour of the clay, which is the present colour of the house but when normal construction sand is used, it changes towards the colour of concrete which is quite ugly. So we were advised to use ‘beach’ sand which is less strong but much more decorative with a tint similar to our clay and that is what we are going to try. The first tests seem to hit the mark.

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The croaking of the Natterjacks in the recently installed pond, collecting the ‘grey’ water from the shower, has taken effect in the form of several strains of spawn. The water is somewhat transparent and of a greenish colour, probably provoked by algae that feed on the nutrients in the grey water.

On the 20^th I also saw the first Pond skaters (Gerris lacustris) in this pond; curious because they usually indicate clean waters; quite welcome on the other hand, as I had detected some mosquito larvae which are on its day’s menu.

introduction
floristic catalogue
faunistic catalogue
contact
index
gallery 1: 2006-2012
gallery 2: 2012-
map
>> 2010 Apr 27
<< 2010 Apr 4