Lazy Days in my Garden

A Windy Morning in the Garden

2011-10-10T14:15:00.000-07:00

Last year I didn't take any Geranium or Fuchsia cuttings as I had taken quite a few the year before, but I stupidly left them all outside over winter and lost all the geraniums. Most of the Fuchsias survived but were very late flowering so today I managed to beg a few cuttings from a neighbour and have potted them up in improvised incubators and put them on a windowsill. I will do some more later and also some Fuchsias.

This is one of the cuttings I took a couple of years ago and had a go at training into a standard. Not bad for a first attempt, even if it has got a kink in the stem. I'll have another go this year with a different variety.

It was very windy today, but this part of the garden, apart from being very untidy is very sheltered, so I decided to make room for the two Chrysanthemums in the picture above which I bought yesterday.

Elijah's Tears was always too close to Mahonia, so I moved him a little way away. I hope he isn't too upset, he will have more room and not be battered against Mahonias sharp leaves anymore. Finn decided after all that hard wok it was time for a tea break!

Job done. Chrysanths planted were I can enjoy them whilst having my tea break, some crocus scattered and planted around them and some of the Brompton Stock seedlings I started a couple of months ago planted as well. I hope they'll be alright they seem very small to survive the winter and the slugs.

And lastly this fungi is growing on one of my Buddlea bushes. Does anyone know what it is and if I should worry about it?

2011-09-24T14:50:00.000-07:00

This is a piece of Leylandii deadwood I have left standing in the garden for the Honeysuckle to clamber over. It used to have a bird table on top of it but Tara cat kept jumping on it and broke it so now I just hang the bird feeders from it. The Blue tits love the suet treat I put in the green holder, but they have finished it up and I haven't got another one yet, so they were actually eating the Nijer seed , which no-one seems to want, yesterday.

They have peeled the bark off to get to the bugs underneath, revealing a myriad of holes and tunnel ways.

The bugs themselves are about the size of a fruit fly and are mite-like in appearance. There are clusters of eggs revealed as well.

I spent ages this afternoon sawing a coconut in half for the Blue tits, only to discover it was old and mouldy inside, so I scraped it out, cleaned it up and filled it with suety treats. Here are the two halves hanging up.

One had a mixture of bird seed in and this one has some fruit in as well. I hope they enjoy it until I can get another treat for the holder.

Smudge had to come and supervise proceedings. I was wondering why my poor Fuchsia's roots were all exposed until I caught him rubbing himself against it. Naughty cat.

Garden Visitors

2011-09-22T14:58:00.000-07:00

The nearest I've got to gardening this week is feeding the birds and painting my hall in Fuschia and Poinsetta red. The bluetits love this suet feeder, no-one seems to like the nijer seed in the feeder below, I bought it to attract Goldfinches but they prefered the Golden chorus I scatter on the ground. The Sparrows like the cheap wild bird seed I buy in 20 kilo sacks and they get through a large feeder a day, although they are wasteful little things and drop quite a lot on the ground. (Why is it almost every wasted seed they drop germinates in my flowerbed, while hardly any of the seeds I plant come to anything?) If I don't fill it up quick enough they will eat the songster mix in the smaller feeder, but this is not really a favourite.

Sorry about the quality of this video, the birds wouldn't wait for me to clean the window!

Every night last week the honeysuckle by my living room window was visited by a moth at around 8o'clock, I haven't seen it since Saturday though.

Brick paths and rosehip wine.

2011-09-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos I took in the garden today.

The caption on the sign just about sums up my philosophy on life.

I salvaged some bricks from a neighbours skip and am making a path around the edge of the grass to stop me walking across it and turning it into a muddy mess again this winter. After I had laid them out I had to cut back my Rosa Rugosa so that I could actually walk on it! There were lots of big, red hips on the bits I cut off which I usually leave for the birds, but this year I'm trying making wine with them as well as the wild Dog rose ones I usually use. Here's the recipe I used:
2lb rose hips
1tsp citric acid (I didn't have any so I used the juice of an orange- no lemons either!)
3lb sugar
1 gallon boiling water
1tsp yeast, nutrient &pectic enzyme
Wash the rosehips and then either crush them or cut them in half. Put the sugar in a polythene bucket with them and cover with the water. Stir well to dissolve the sugar. When cool enough to be able to put your finger in comfortably add yeast, acid,enzyme and nutrient. Cover closely and leave in a warm place for a fortnight, stirring daily. Strain through a sieve into a fermentation jar and fit airlock. When wine clears siphon into a fresh jar and leave for a further 3 months before racking again and bottling.
Rose hip wine made with wild rosehips was the first wine I ever made. I hope this version will taste as good!

Not so lazy day in the garden

2011-09-09T16:17:00.000-07:00

Well Autumn is with us now , so the lazy days in the garden are replaced with busy days in the garden! Yesterday my friend Jane took me to my favorite garden centre http://www.penralltnursery.co.uk/, this was quite a treat as I haven't been able to get there since I stopped driving. We spent a pleasurable hour or so wandering round and I bought some Winter flowering Pansies, some double daisies and some Hyacinth bulbs plus a suet treat for the birds.

Today I spent the morning clearing the patch of dead nettle under the front hedge ready to plant and adding compost to the ground.

I found this little fellow under the elephants ears, I hope he keeps the slugs away from the pansies.

All planted out.

And my pots replanted as well.

I'm not going to be able to move tomorrow!

The Case Of The Missing Bucket

2011-08-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

Would you believe it, someone has stolen the yellow bucket you can just about see in the picture of the front hedge in the last entry here which I put over the tree stump until I can remove it so that no one catches their shin on it as they go past! I don't believe it's kids as the baler twine I secured it with has been cut with a sharp knife. Is it paranoid to think it's the same sad person who complained about the hedge in the first place so they can make another complaint?

I've put another bucket over it and secured that with a padlock!

Paranoid or what..........!

After spending all the summer a few years ago thinking I was going out of my mind when a certain person kept reaching over and breaking branches off my Buddlea, I'm not so sure that it is parnoia. It was only when I actually caught them doing it that I could really believe someone could be so petty. I can't help feeling sorry for people who have so little going on in their lives that they have to make trouble for other people.

2011-07-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit lax in updating my blog just lately, so first of all here is a quick roundup of what has been happening since I last wrote.

First of all my courgette plant, (the only one to actually germinate) has been producing a number of courgettes and the tomato plants have fruit on them, although none have actually ripened yet.

Last years Bunny Rabbits have come back stronger than ever, and I have moved their pot from the doorstep into the flowerbed in the hope they will seed themselves.

The yellow Day Lilly has done well by the house, but her orange sister has not flowered this year at all, she is usually a bit later flowering but not this late.

Sue gave me this shrub and I have looked it up in the book, but have forgotten what it is called, but anyway it seems happy enough and has lots more flowers than last year.

This is the view into the garden from the seat under the window. The bird feeder is empty because Smudge spends his time sitting on top of the archway waiting for birds! I went out a few days ago and was I glad I had a pair of shoes on. There was something soft and squishy under my feet, hidden by Montbretia leaves - a dead pigeon!

Through the archway and up the garden path.

The honeysuckle and jasmine pulling the trellis down yet again. I end up mending it every year! This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago, the jasmine is in full flower now, I don't think I've ever had so many flowers on it!

And after the tour round the back garden it's time for tea before starting work in the front garden!

This is my front gate after massive clearance of the front hedge. I had a visit from the Council Man a few weeks ago complaining that the hedge was overgrown and needed to be cut back to the fence. (I had only just finished trimming it), when I pointed out to him it was illegal to cut out hedges while the birds were nesting he got all embarrassed and told me well yes but if anything happened I'd be liable and he'd be back in 2 months. You just can't win, so last week I set to work (there weren't any nests in it I did check), it took 3 days to do, but I refuse to get rid of my roses, at least you can see them better now!

Finn is looking at the pile of trash after The Great Hedge Clearance. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it as there's a huge sack of prickly stuff as well.

The mound under the tarpaulin is wood waiting to be cut up for the fire. I spent a couple of hours cutting it up this afternoon and have done about half and filled the coal bunker.

Although there seem to be lots of flowers on certain things the garden seems dead compared to last year. Since a row of old Leylandii at the edge of the field behind me were cut down last year the birds have disappeared and I really miss their comings and goings and constant chattering while I sit out there. Also there don't seem to be the butterflies about this year. Dorothy from http://www.butterflycentre.co.uk/ seems to think it's because we had a dry spell when the caterpillars were about so they couldn't feed properly. So now I'm trying to plan my garden to attract as much as possible next year.

The plan is to make a survey of the garden and really get to know it, all the different habitats and what lives in them and how I can improve and add to them. That should keep me busy for a while!

Herb of the month - Wild Garlic

2011-05-09T14:22:00.000-07:00

Although I have a couple of patches of Wild Garlic, or Ramsons in my garden come April and May I love to go foraging in our local woods for the leaves,they seem to taste better if I have gathered them from the wild while enjoying a walk with Finn. Ramsons (Alium Ursinum, so called because Brown bears love eating the bulbs when they emerge from hibernation) grow in moist,slightly acidic soil in deciduous woodland and flower between May and June.

All parts of the plant are edible, although it is illegal to dig the bulbs up in the wild and unless the cultivated patch needs restraining it is better value just to harvest the leaves which can be used in salads, soups , boiled as a vegetable or used as a spice.

Wild Garlic is said to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol. It eases stomach pain and treats diarrhoea, wind, indigestion and colic. The leaves can be applied externally for rheumatic and arthritic joints. It is also reputed to be beneficial for asthma, bronchitis and emphysema although none of these conditions should be treated without the advice of a doctor.

The juice of the leaves can be used for moth repellent and as a general household disinfectant.The whole plant is supposed to repel insects and also moles.

The plants can be propagated by division at the end of summer when the plant dies down or by seed, which should be sown as soon as they ripen either in situ or in a cold frame. The young plants should be big enough to plant out in three years.

Some recipes for using Wild Garlic can be found on the following link http://uktv.co.uk/food/ingredient/aid/585886.

I tend to use it as I would normal garlic although the flavour is slightly more mild.

There are several ways to preserve Wild Garlic, here are two that I found on http://foodfun.blog.co.uk/.

To Dry:

100grm wild garlic leaves

1tsp salt

Set oven to 50 celsius

Spread washed and dried leaves on baking trays without overlapping and place in the oven for about 4 hours until the leaves are dry and brittle.

grind up using a grinder or food processor then add salt.

Store in a jar.

100grms of leaves should give approx 20grm dried.

In Oil:

100grm leaves

100ml vegetable oil

5grm salt

Chop leaves and add salt. Leave for 15 min.

Blend wild garlic salt and oil. Decant into preserving jar and top up with oil so no leaves are exposed to air.

Refrigerate.

The paste can be spooned out for soup or pasta dishes.

AFTER THE RAIN

2011-05-08T08:10:00.000-07:00

Yes we've had some rain at last! It must be about a month since we had any to speak of, and then last night there was a strange noise outside my window as I was going to sleep, like a waterfall falling from the roof. Although its been glorious sitting in a sun drenched jungle it must be said that the garden was in desperate need of a drink.

This morning I went out with the camera and this is the result.

The sun glistens on the wet clematis petals.

A mass of Aquilega and Rosa Rugosa.

The Ajuga loves this position and is in desperate need of splitting once it has stopped flowering.

The Aquilega from the opposite end of the garden.

'WillI get my paws wet Finn?'

The clematis is the star of the garden at the moment.

These last two pics were taken from my window, as you can see my garden is not really very big at all.

With a little help from my friends

2011-04-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

My push bike had a puncture, Finn thought he'd like to help mend it. No Finn that's the wrong wheel!

That's right, it's the back one that needs fixing.

Smudge isn't impressed, never mind the ball Finn, get on with the job!

Job done we can get on with planting a weeping willow tree my friend gave me when she moved, now were shall we put it? The problem is I have a small garden which already has an Ash tree and a cherry tree in the front and a quite large willow in the back, the only suitable place in the back would shade my sitting place (and we can't have that!), so after careful deliberation Finn decided it should go by the side of the front path just were the fork is, I hope it really is a dwarf tree!

Another job finished, Finn really has been a big help today! He looks very pleased with himself doesn't he?

And just to finish up, these are the only two remaining Fritillaries, there used to be quite a few scattered round the lawn.

2011-03-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the pictures of the month.

The dragon likes basking in the sun by my suntrap.

Smudge is enjoying the sun aswell

The Ajuga is taking over my remembrance corner.

The first brave primroses hiding one of Finn's toys.

Another dragon in the sun under the baytree.

The helebore is in flower at last.

And this is the first time this one has flowered.

Round to the front and Smudge is coming to meet me.

Elephants ears.

The second batch of daffodils.

And last but not least I bought a packet of crocus for 49pence at the beginning of December and decided it was too late to plant them outside , these 3 I grew like hyacinths in water and planted the rest in pots. Some I gave as Christmas presents but the ones I kept have given a show worth ten times the price I paid for them.

2011-02-28T09:17:00.000-08:00

The first daffodils are out! What a difference the sun makes, the garden is looking so much more cheerful today.

This little clump of crocus greets visitors as they walk in the gate.

These two primula and the violet are new additions to the garden this year.

I hope they will be happy and spread a bit.

As it was so nice today, I did a bit of tidying up, removing dead leaves and sweeping paths. Then I transplanted these spinach seedlings from trays to some compost in the cold frame, I hope I haven't upset them.

It was so nice outside I decided to have lunch in the garden. Finn is making sure the birds don't steel the cake!

Smudge thought it was time to sunbathe,

And for once Tara agreed with him!

It's so good to get out in the garden again.

SPRING IS COMING!

2011-02-17T09:38:00.000-08:00

The garden seems so much slower coming to life this year, everywhere is damp and claggy,but the snowdrops are out and things are starting to shoot again. The weeds are doing quite well, but the ground is too wet to do anything about them, so it looks like I'm going to be eating a lot of Dandelion salad! I did quite a pallatable Dandelion wine last year aswell, although I would prefer them NOT to flower. Despite adding copious amounts of compost I have quite a heavy clay soil which according to the RHS course I did is rich in nutrients but not good to work when waterlogged as the soil structure will be destroyed.
This is all getting a bit technical so let's get back to what is actually happening. I've started having a superficial clear up, just removing dead leaves. I thought I had lost all my Fuschias which I had left out all winter because of lack of room indoors. I did cover them with dead leaves to try to protect them a bit, but they're starting to shoot! Not all of them admitedly, but I haven't given up hope as I supose it is still a bit early yet. The Auilega are shooting well aswell and the primroses are starting to bud. The Winter flowering Pansies have not given such a good show as last year but they are still struggling on.
And yesterday morning I discovered the frogspawn in the bath! Spring is definately round the corner.

I'm Back

2011-02-10T10:02:00.000-08:00

This is just a quick post now to let you all know my internet connection has been restored at long last!
The garden is looking a bit dismal at the moment, much more so than last year, although the snowdrops are out and the daffodils are in bud. The weather seems to have been too cold, wet or windy to do much out there for most of the winter. I need to get out and start weeding but the ground is too claggy to do anything yet.
Now I've finally managed to re-access my blog I'll do a more interesting post when I've got more time. See you all soon

Stars of April

2010-05-08T01:13:00.000-07:00

sorry i haven't been about lately, but I'm currently having a dispute with talktalk and am having to borrow a friends computer to do this (thank you Tony), so posts might be a bit irregular until we sort things out.
Anyway I thought the easiest way to catch up is to post photos of the last month. So here they are.....the stars of my garden in April.

This little double primrose is THE STAR of the winter, she was in flower continously from the time I bought her, all through the snow and is still going strong.

This little one has been almost as brave, but was not quite as good in the snow.

The pansies, although they are meant to be winter flowering got a bit wilted during the really cold weather, but are making up for it now!

The wallflower were late starting but have outlasted the daffodils.

What can I say about these old faithful, they come up every year.

The elephants ears have been struggling on gamely all through the winter, but look just as happy as I am that it seems to be over.

The daffodils gave a lovely show, but are all finished now.

These bright little euphorbia(?) brighten up a shady corner.

The frittillaries in the lawn are not as prolific as usual, all the mauve ones have disappeared.

The fisrt bluebells, all the others have caught up with them now but these were the first ones in flower.

This little beauty gives a beautiful perfume outside the front door.

Could someone please tell this little bee not to work quite so hard....... the title of the blog is Lazy Days in my garden.

Sadly these daffodils are all finished now. I'm waiting for the leaves to die back so that I can put my fuschia cuttings in their place. I've been hardening them off ready and you can just see them peeping around the pot.

This is the patch outside the front door.

Finn and Smudge survey the world with a jaundiced eye as I go out and leave them!

These anenome guard my back door and keep a clematis cutting company.

Raindrops on the honeysuckle.

Finn and Smudge have captured the spirit of my garden as we all relax in the sun!

And lastly the clematis is not quite in a starring role, but will be very soon.

The Great Chainsaw Massacre

2010-04-20T12:49:00.000-07:00

Ages ago I asked someone to come and thin the branches of the willow tree at the end of the garden to let the sun get through to the bears britches which haven't flowered for the last 2 years,presumably because of lack of sunlight. I really wanted it done earlier in the year, before it started shooting, but while I was sitting quietly outside today having lunch, Finn started barking his 'someone's at the door' bark and there was Chainsaw Man ready for work. Well I've never been one to stop a man working when he's in the mood so after shutting Finn indoors (he does like to'help'), rescueing cheese sandwiches and making cups of tea the tree was tackled.

We only took a couple of branches out, but it's made quite a difference to the far end of the garden.
Underneath this pile of trash there's a barbeque and a chair hiding!

As he was leaving, he saw the Cherry tree leaning drunkenly against the front fence so he cut that down to fence height. Hopefully it will shoot out again next year. It was starting to rot in the middle and I have been worried about it for some time. But why is it as soon as I get the garden tidy there is another pile of trash to get rid of?

Cutting the branches from the willow tree has given me about an hour and a half more sun in my sitting place. Here is Finn enjoying the sun at 5.15, it's usually gone by 4.30 this time of year. He's not that impressed as it means his walk was late tonight!

A Lazy Day in my Garden

2010-04-18T12:25:00.000-07:00

We've had a fantastic couple of weeks and I'm lying here in my sitting place by the shed on my blanket with my book, baking in the sun. If I get up to make a cup of tea it is quite cold on the other side of the shed by the kitchen door and I have to put my jumper back on. The sun shines down from a cloudless blue sky from about 12.30 when it peeps over the top of the house until about 4.30 when it hides amongst the willow branches and Iwill take Finn for his walk. Finn thinks I need entertaining and every so often will throw a ball at me. I ignore him and he goes away, the air is filled with a garlicy onion scent as he tramples across the alliums on his way indoors. The buzz of insects forms an unobtrusive background hum and every so often a couple of sparrows chatter their way across the garden. Smudge looks on with interest from his vantage point under the hedge. He caught another vole a couple of days ago, I wouldn't mind if he ate it, but he left it in the middle of the path.
As I lie here I take stock of the ravages of this winter. The rosemary has died, luckily I took some cuttings at the beginning of the winter, but they are too small to use yet. The mint, both the applemint and the ordinary mint seems to have disappeared. On the plus side both the marjoram and the oregano are thriving. These marjoram plants are next to where I am lieing and give off a marvelous aroma if I brush against them.

The chives which I thought had died a couple of months ago are doing so well I have just split them up into three clumps. The wild garlic is also thriving, the origional clump amongst the london pride was split up last year and the new colony is doing well by the front door. These are next to my table so I get the galicy scent while I eat my dinner.

A few days ago I got myself motivated to make a new archway for the clematis, it's coming into bud now and I want it to have settled into position before it flowers properly.

As you've probably gathered by looking at some of the photos of my garden, I'm into recycling things and hate throwing anything away if it can possibly be used for something. Well the neighbours have cottoned onto this and I am the last stop before the dump! I was given a whole load of wood for the fire and some of it was just right for my clematis support. It looks a bit Heath Robinson at the moment, but by the end of summer the clematis should have covered it nicely! (I hope).

Looking from my sitting place by the shed towards the tadpoles bath. The drystone walling around it needs repairing and the bath needs leveling up somehow, it seems to have sunk unevenly over the years. There are primroses and day lillies and aquilega in between. Later on I'm hoping to put some of my fuschia cuttings I took in the autumn there, but it's too early to risk them outside yet.

The pieris on the far side of the bath is shooting nicely.

And finally. the collection of pots by the shed door, there's london pride a bamboo and a heuchera.

The shed door is open slightly reminding me that I should really be making more candles to take to our local country market, but it's too nice lieing here in the sun so I will have that cup of tea and finish my book instead!

2010-04-03T13:26:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not writing much this month, but the computer died on me and I've had to resuscitate an old one. I'm back on line now, sitting at the far end of the garden under the willow tree. I've been given another garden table so now I can eat my breakfast in the sun without having to move the table under the window which catches the evening sun and where I like to have my dinner in the summer

It's peaceful here, outside the traffic goes by on the road and a plane passes overhead, but somehow here they don't intrude. The air is still and the sun shines through the leafless branches. There are birds singing somewhere behind me and a breathe of wind rustles the bamboo leaves by the kitchen door. Two crows fly over on some secret mission and I have a sip of tea as I watch.

There is not much in flower in this part of the garden at the moment, a couple of daffodils and one of the primroses I split up earlier this month. The Ice plant forms a compact cushion of new shoots,

the dicentra is shooting, the pieris has a collection of new shoots, montbretia is popping up everywhere and the heucheras and wild geraniums are fresh and green.

The willow tree I am sitting under is bursting with catkin buds, which my next door neighbour will probably complain about when they blow into her garden!

I wasn't very impressed with the cyclamen, whether it was the fault of the weather or my gardening skills I don't know. The bears Britches are shooting with promise which will probably be as unfulfilled as it has been for the last two years if I don't get the willow pruned so that they can get some sun. Behind me the berries on the mahonia are forming impressively.

The frogspawn in the bath survived being frozen and although the frogs seemed to be in some doubt and laid a second batch on the 20th of March the first lot hatched and now the water is seething with a black mass of wiggling tadpoles!

Earlier this month I had a good session in the front garden and managed to clear the woodpile from under the front window, now there is a rocking chair there ready for me to enjoy my early morning cuppa while watching the sun rise.

With all these places to sit and enjoy the sun I hope we get some this year!

In the front garden, the elephants ears and daffodils are in full bloom and the wallflowers are making a belated attempt to redeem themselves. The snowdrops and crocus have finished, but the winter flowering pansies and the double primroses in the tub by the front door are still going strong.

I'll leave this little fellow I found hiding under some leaves in a bowl of water to say goodbye for now.

2010-03-05T14:25:00.000-08:00

This was the frogspawn this morning, all frozen .I hope the frogs knew what they were doing when they laid it, but I supose they know more about it than I do!

Although it was cold this morning it has been another beautiful day, quite warm in the sun. Tara cat is making the most of it amongst the wallflowers, which haven't been as good this year as they were last year.I had a Royal Doulton plate which got broken, so I 'planted' it in the garden amongst the wallflowers, Tara has knocked it over to sit on! She's a weird cat....

A neighbour was going to throw this wheelbarrow out, so I rescued it and it has proved itself worth it's weight in gold when I was moving the compost heap. This was a job I did last week. I have 2 bins and usually I fill one up, then turn it into the other one before starting on the second one and by the time the second one is full the first is ready to use, however something went a bit wrong this time and I started the second one before I'd filled the first one properly so it never got turned. Also I didn't aerate it as much as usual and not having my car any more I haven't brought any horse muck back from the field to get it started, with the result that there was only about a foot of usable stuff in the bottom. However both bins have now been moved from the path at the side of the house to the end of the back garden where I combined both bins into one ready to start the process anew. When I went to give it a bit of a stir to aerate it and mix it up a bit it had settled by about 6'' so I hope it is working properly now.

Today the wheelbarrow was poised for action again. I decided it was such a nice day I would do a bit of weeding. A few years ago I had just one of these hedgerow plants growing in my front garden and I thought I'd leave it, big mistake! There are now literally millions of them and it is impossible to dig them up as they have really long, brittle roots so Every so often I have a mad weeding fit where I try to deprive them of as many leaves as I can!

It's really hard getting all of them out without pulling up my snowdrops which are hiding amongst the euphorbia.

I found this slug and woodlice hiding under this piece of wood. I don't like slugs, but I don't like killing anything unless I'm going to eat it, so the wood and all it's inhabitants got moved to the compost heap!

After all this exertion It was time for coffee on the seat under the Ash tree. Smudge is just looking after it for me, while Finn keeps an eye on him!

And the crows keep an eye on us all!

Lastly, what do you do with all those Buddlea prunings? I usually cut them up for kindling, but I have a few years backlog to catch up on, they burn really well if left to dry out for a year ( or several) but the fire needs constant attention as they burn really quickly so I'm afraid I don't make the best use of them that way, but I remembered seeing a program on recycling Christmas trees and one of the ideas was to use them as a support for climbers to make a form of hedging. Not liking throwing things away if they can be re-used added to the fact that my back fence is collapsing and I have several honeysuckle cuttings which I don't know where to put I think I may have an answer for this years batch.

Here they are piled up against the fence, ready for the honeysuckle to be transplanted when the weather gets a bit warmer.

photo of the week

2010-03-03T15:17:00.000-08:00

The frogspawn has appeared overnight on the pond. Ihope the heavy frost we had hasn't killed it!

photo(s) of the week

2010-02-13T14:50:00.000-08:00

It was a lovely day today and I went a bit mad with the camera, so there are quite a few photos this week.

First of all, Finn's agility equipment seems to have taken over the front lawn.

The Chives I thought I'd lost seem to be crowing quite well with the help of the cockle shell!

The clematis cutting seems to have taken, but I'll put her cloche back over her for a while longer to keep her warm until spring really is here.

The daffodils think Spring is here even if there is ice on the pond in the mornings.

This little fish is looking a bit lost.

Smudge and Finn.

My little green dragon guarding my candle making shed.

The Honeysuckle cuttings I took last year seem to have taken, where on earth am I going to put them all. (there's another pot of them aswell!)

This Iris has never flowered for me despite being moved to several different places in the garden, maybe the wizard sharing the pot will cast a spell and encourage her to bloom.

Finn is keeping an eye on me from inside. (I love the mixture of reflection and view through the window into the room and further into the street beyond in this one)

Let sleeping dragons lie.

Do you get the impression I've got a thing about dragons? This one loves the shade of the Bay bush.

Smudge lending a helping paw.

The sun is always shining in my garden!

And lastly, any ideas what this is?

I don't seem to have done any of the jobs on my list of things to do for last month, so it will remain the same for this month. Snow was the excuse last month, I wonder what this months one will be?

photo of the week

2010-01-30T16:21:00.000-08:00

I'm cheating this week as I've got two photos.

I've chosen this one of the fungi growing on one of the 'stepping stones' across the front lawn for two reasons, the main one being I like the picture and the other is to see if anypne out there can identify them and tell me if I should worry about them being in my garden.

And these are the first snowdrops to appear. One day there was no sign of them and the next they looked like this!

After the snow

2010-01-25T14:50:00.000-08:00

Isn't it nice to have a nice sunny day to go and potter in the garden again? I went out this morning to take advantage of the beautiful weather and discovered my Cherry tree had got a catkin!

Needless to say I spent more time laughing at Smudge as he tried to catch the Sparrows who seemed to be teasing him than actually working.

I thought I had lost my Helebores, but this one seems to be quite happy although there should be two more to keep her company.

The Aquilegas are growing new shoots aswell, These are popping up all over the garden and make quite a show when they are in flower. The bees love them.

And here is where the Thrush has his dinner at the bottom of the garden. He doesn't seem to have a favorite type of snail judging by the collection of shells, or maybe he was too hungry to worry.

photo of the week

2010-01-21T13:06:00.000-08:00

This little tortoise is waving goodbye to the snow and welcoming the daffodils and hopefully spring

2010-01-13T07:49:00.000-08:00

First of all a big thankyou to everyone from Blotanical who has 'faved' my blog, and for all your comments. I'll get back to you all personally, but at the moment I'm just blown away by your comments.

I was reluctant to start a blog on my garden as I don't feel as though I'm knowledgeable enough to be of interest to all you more profficient gardeners out there. I eventually decided to start it as a personal notebook. In the past I have kept a diary, starting in January and carrying on until, on a good year, possibly May! I find it really interesting to look back and see what was flowering ( or not) at a given time and each year I wish I had carried on with the diary for longer. Well this is meant to be my inspiration, and now I know there are people out there actually interested it is a big incentive to keep going. Thankyou all.

Here are some of the photos I've taken since the last entry.

This is the front hedge taken through the window. The Geranium flowers are on the windowsill inside. I'm trying to keep them going over winter and have taken a few cuttings for next summer.

This is the Willow tree at the end of the back garden where the Bluetits line up for the feeders, naturally no one is about when I have the camera with me!

A Teasel provides both winter interest and seeds for the birds.

A brave little Primrose with hopes of Spring around the corner.

And a snow covered quiet corner where my first dog is buried. It's my place I go on sunny days to ponder on lifes ups and downs.

And finally, this Thrush caught the snail in the Yellow Flag Iris and very obligingly hung around to eat it while I went to fetch the camera.

My Bird Garden

2010-01-09T11:51:00.000-08:00

What little timewasters the birds are! It was suposed to be a busy day yesterday but there I was sitting looking out of the window instead of giving myself a kickstart.

I put out some new types of food. one of the peanut feeders has sultanas and blackberries aswell as peanuts and I've filled the Niger seed feeder up to try to tempt some Goldfinch into the garden. So far this has not attracted any attention.

What was causing the interest was the mixture I scattered on the ground - mealworms, bread, elderberries and blackberries.

A Thrush and a Blackbird were disputing the mealworms. The Blackbird proved the bolder of the two and the Thrush withdrew. But then the Starlings appeared and Mr. Blackbird wasn't so brave! However the Starlings were more interested in the bread than the mealworms and Mrs. Blackbird proved braver than her husband! Mr. Blackbird and a Robin went to the Ashtree in the front were they had to make do with leftovers from the day before and a fatty cake.

At lunchtime yesterday I burnt the cheese on toast because there were 3 Redwing in the garden! I've not seen 1 before let alone 3! I don't know if it's the berries which have attracted them or if they just saw lots of bird activity here and came to investigate' but anyway they hopped around the edge of the garden underneath the Rosa Rugosa for a while and 1 has come back today but seems to prefer the cherrytree in the front.

There was also a collared Dove who paid a visit yesterday and a Magpie today.

Please excuse the quality of this video. Not only was it taken on an extremely cheap camera but through a not too clean window!

photo of the week

2010-01-08T14:19:00.000-08:00

These little Anemone St. Brigid are showing a brave face, a good beginning for the new year I hope. There is a cutting from the clematis on the title picture under the cloche, I hope it has taken, it's brothers and sisters didn't.

Visitors to my garden pt 3... Bullfinch

2010-01-07T12:40:00.000-08:00

BULLFINCH

The drawback to bird gardening is that you can only enjoy the results when the birds allow you to!

I burnt my breakfast this morning, trying to get a photo of the first Bullfinch I have seen in my garden this year. Needless to say I failed, he sat just out of range until the smoke wafted out of the kitchen and reminded me of the task in hand . By the time i had rescued the sausages he had disappeared.

But I supose that is part of the attraction of trying to attract birds to my garden, there is always an element of surprise.

The male Bullfinchhas a black cap and chin, blue-black wings with a mark of pink on each wing, the back is pale blue-grey and the rump white. The underparts are a rich pink. The female is much paler, with a browner back. Juveniles are like browner females with no black cap.

The Bullfinch will spend most of it's time in hedges, thickets,shrubberies,bushy gardens and woodland with thick undergrowth. The nest is made in a thick hedge and 4-5 eggs are laid in May. they will hatch in 12-14 days and the young will leave the nest after 12-16 days.

Diet consists of mainly seeds, berries and buds. The young are reared on caterpillars.

2010-01-06T06:49:00.000-08:00

As I've said before, I'm quite proud of myFuschia cuttings - most of them that is. They mainly come from an unnamed variety which has been in a pot in my garden for years, she wasn't bought as a hardy variety but she must think she is to have survived for so long. she was looking a bit tired this summer, so I thought I'd take some cuttings in case she succumbed this winter.

This is the first batch of cuttings, mainly taken from the above plant, but with a couple of 'wild' pink flowered ones from a hedgerow.

Once this batch was up and running I got a little bit carried away and took a few from the golden leafed plant pictured below, I think she is Genii, but I may well be mistaken.

These are my little Genii cuttings, I'm going to try training them into standard plants. I've never attempted this before, so it will be interesting to see if it works and how long they take to make respectable plants. The book says Genii makes good standards, we shall see.

I'm feeding all my little babies with a home made concoction of nettle and comfrey leaves left in a tub of water for a few months. The water is then strained off and used as a plant feed. I'm using it in a mister as a foliar feed. I'm not sure how effective it is, but it doesn't seem to have had any bad effects yet.

Not content with this success the bug was still biting. There is a caravan site on one of our regular dog walks, one of the caravans has a collection of really outstanding Fuschia in the hedge.
So after the site had closed for winter, I decided to take some cuttings from here. (Yes I know it's stealing, but they were going to die back for winter anyway). I took 9 altogether, 3 from each of 3 different varieties and planted them up in 3's in large pots with polythene bag propogators over them. It was probably a little late in the season by this time, but I kept a check on them through the polythene and they seemed to be doing well. Yesterday I decided to take the polythene off and this is what was underneath. Justice has been served!

Any ideas what the unidentified seedlings are?

2010-01-05T09:46:00.000-08:00

We had more snow today, so I took the camera out to try and capture the mood.

This was the view from the front door.

This is the Cherrytree that the flocks of sparrows dominate, (funny how they all disappear as soon as the camera appears).

This is my little Baytree, which flavours my stews and casseroles. ( The shutter didn't open properly).

And this is my baby Dragon, hatching out of his egg into the snow. I hope he learns to breathe fire soon or he will freeze.

My Winter Garden

2010-01-03T09:17:00.000-08:00

Laura says my garden is a fairy garden, but at the moment it looks as though Hivere, the Winter Giant has stomped all over it! The archway with the clematis on has collapsed so that only the Little People can actually get to it.

There area few bright spots where Ettienne the Goddess of Summer is fighting back, the daffodils and bluebells are starting to shoot. The cyclamen have little buds peeping from under their leaves and the Kaffir lillies, Mahonia and Elephants Ears are bravely flowering on, although I think the snow may have finished the pink Kaffir lillies.

But the thing I love best about the garden at this time of year are the birds. I don't care how many plants are flowering or have leaves and stems with 'winter interest' if there is no movement, no sudden fluttering from branch to branch, no singing and chattering over the feeders and roosting sites the garden is dead.

I have one seed feeder in the cherry tree in the front which is dominated by flocks of sparrows. A blackbird lurks around the lower branches to catch anything which is dropped. I also scatter seed and berries collected in the autumn and kept in the freezer and when it is really cold I throw out some mealworms aswell. There is also a cheeky little robin who visits aswell and some bluetits and chaffinch.

The ash tree provides a roosting place for a collection of 'blackbirds', with the jackdaws at the lower levels and the larger crows and rooks higher up. The ivy covering the trunk provides roosting/nesting places for the sparrows and robin.

There was a time a couple of years ago when I thought that the sparrows had pushed the bluetits out of my garden, but they seem to have come to some agreement because the seed feeder and the peanut feeder on the collapsed arch in the back is dominated by bluetits who line up in the willow tree at the end of the garden and swoop across to take their turn, with the occaisional greattit, coaltit,chaffinch and starling.

There is also a thrush who visits my garden, although I rarely see him, only the empty snail shells by the stone he uses as an anvil.

SNOW

2010-01-02T12:06:00.000-08:00

Photo of the week

2010-01-02T11:57:00.000-08:00

I've chosen this photo taken through the living room window this week for 2 reasons, the first being that it shows the progress of my Fuschia cuttings but the main one is the way the sun is shining on the bamboo making it stand out from the snow laden cloud behind. More photos of snow to follow.

Visitors to my garden, no.2

2009-12-27T08:58:00.000-08:00

BLACKCAP (Sylvia atricapilla)

On Christmas Eve my front door was open and I caught a glimpse of a bird I had never seen before sitting in the cherry tree. It was about the same size as a sparrow, but had a creamy grey breast and a brown cap, it wasn't part of the flock of chattering sparrows and flew off without visiting the feeder. I dug out the bird book and think it must have been a female (or juvenile) Blackcap.
According to the book some of these birds overwinter here, often visiting gardens and bird tables, but the majority arrive in April and leave by October. They are warblers, the males are greyish, browner above with little strong pattern except a dull black cap which is narrower and more peaked than that of a tit. Females have a brown cap and the juveniles more rufous ones, as the one I saw was a rich reddish brown it may well have been young.
Blackcaps spend much of their time in bushy undergrowth in in woods or gardens with trees.They can sometimes be seen in autumn feeding from honeysuckle or elderberry bushes. They nest in a bush or hedgerow and lay 5 eggs which hatch in 10-11 days. The young will fly 10-13 days later.
They eat mainly insects and berries.
Their song is rich and clear after a scratchy start, bursting into a rapid phrase of warbles, but also includes a hard 'tak' which, coming from a thicket or tree is usually the sign of one of the Sylvia warblers.

Photos of the week. (Snowy morning)

2009-12-19T15:54:00.000-08:00

When I opened the curtains this morning, this is what I saw.

So I took the camera outside and took these pictures.

Sorry about the quality, but I was on a night setting and got a bit of camera shake.

I bet Buddha's tummy is cold!

Evan Smudge wants to come inside!

Photo of the week

2009-12-14T12:13:00.000-08:00

Sorry, this should have gone in last week, but I've been a bit busy over the weekend. I just had to prove we've had some sunshine!

Plant of the Month

2009-12-09T13:33:00.000-08:00

MAHONIA

There isn't much colour in the back garden at the moment, but my Mahonia Japonica makes a welcome burst of sunshine amid all this rain we're having lately. The bright yellow flowers will be followed by purple seeds. It lives at the far end of the garden and is hidden from view until I get 2/3 of the way down the gardenpath, however if I am working in the shed I can see it from the window- a cheery sight to give me inspiration.

Mahonias are full-half hardy and prefer shade or semi shade, so my one is perfectly at home under the willow tree. They like a well drained, fertile soil, not too dry. they are evergreen and grown for both foliage and racemes of sometimes fragrant yellow bellshaped flowers. Some of the taller varieties have deeply fissured bark.Taller ones make good specimen plants while he low growing varieties are good for groundcover.

Propoate by leaf bud or semiripe cuttings in summer, or by seed in autumn.

photo of the week

2009-12-06T13:57:00.000-08:00

The puddle by the shed door.

Yep, that just about sums the week up!

Between the Showers

2009-12-03T16:32:00.000-08:00

I was just about to take Finn for a walk yesterday when I spotted this rainbow,

so I grabbed my camera and took the following pictures while the sun was shining.

I hope I've caught the effect of the sun on the wet leaves.

This week has been another week of gale force winds and driving rain with not much opportunity to do anything outside.

The archway which supports the clematis has collapsed. I.m not sure what to do about it as it has buckled under the strain.

I did pick up another of those cute little double primroses at the market this week for my tub outside the front door, also another cyclamen and a primula which I am assured will flower all winter! The cyclamen are all coming into bud now, if you peek under the leaves you can see them starting to push through. Also there is one flower on one of the wallflower.

I did manage to repot my little Fuschia cuttings I took about a month ago, as you can see they look quite happy, there were two that didn't make it though. I'm determined to have some colour in the garden next summer!

Photo(s) of the week

2009-11-28T14:21:00.000-08:00

Two photo's of the week this week!

I've chosen this one because the philosophy behind the slogan seems apropriate , although I'm getting a bit fed up with lemonade and would like a couple of oranges please! and I picked up the cute little double primrose at the Country Market this week, the Bizzy Lizzies have just about given up, but the Fuschia and Sage cuttings seem quite happy.

I've chosen this picture of the Bamboo by my kitchen door being blown about in the gale force wind because we have had a lot of strong wind this week!

Photo of the week

2009-11-21T13:14:00.000-08:00

This weeks photo's a bit of a copout again this week, but it just seems to sum up the week!

Visitors to my garden no. 1.......Bank Vole

2009-11-18T13:11:00.000-08:00

It's a shame that the only way I find out which small mammals visit my garden is courtesy of the cats. I'm not actually sure if they are visitors or in fact resident, is it in fact me that is the visitor to their territory? Anyway the Bank Vole caught on camera and in Smudge's mouth last week was a juvenile as they are darker than the adults. The average lifespan is just over a year, with the population peaking in the autumn before the winter takes its toll.
Voles haverounded faces, short ears, small eyes and a tail no more than 1/2 the length of head and body. They live in burrows and move along hidden runways in grass. Bank voles prefer hedgerows, scrub and burrows in gardens and woodland where there is plenty of undergrowth. As the bank vole has a diet of seeds leaves and berries which do not wear their teeth down, their teeth stop growing on maturity , whereas those of the field vole grow continuously thougtheir lives.
Population is at its lowest in April/May before the breeding season starts in late spring & summer. A female vole can have 4/6 babies every6/8 weeks. They are weaned at 14/28 days and are able to breed at 6 weeks although those born in late summer wait until the following year.
They are hunted by birds of prey, owls, stoats,weasels, foxes,badgers, pine marten, wildcats and snakes.
Vole populations build up over 4/5 years, as numbers increase they become more aggressive to each other and stop breeding succesfully, possibly due to stress.

photo of the week

2009-11-14T12:47:00.000-08:00

Never mind photo of the week, I think this must be photo of the year!

Plant of the month-pt2

2009-11-11T14:41:00.000-08:00

KAFFIR LILY (SCHIZOSTYLIS)

The Kaffir Lily flowers in autumn and reaches a height of 2ft.. It is a perennial and should be divide every 3 years in spring. It likes a moist soil with good drainage and a PH neutral to slightly acid, a sunny or partially shaded position ou of the wind.

Can be grown from tubers or seed. Tubers should be planted 5cm deep in spring. Mulch in the first winter to protect from cold and every spring to keep soil cool. Fedin spring and twice more while growingand water well in dry conditions.

Seeds should be sown before the last frostof spring and covered lightly with topsoil.

Varieties include Mrs Hegarty, Sunrise and Vicountes Byng with pink flowers and Major with bright crimson flowers

2009-11-10T12:57:00.000-08:00

I decided it's time to put the net curtains back up and to stop hiding behind the hedge now that most of the leaves have fallen. So inbetween the showers last week I decided to tidy it up a bit, this is what it looked like before I started,

And this is how it ended up!

I'm not sure if it's an improvement or not, I feel really exposed now.

The next job is the Wild Cherry tree which looks a bit like the leaning tower of Pisa. It has grown at a weird angle because the Ash tree above it takes all the light in the summer. I thought I'd pollard it, so that it shoots out again,level with the fence.

I also bought some bulbs, Anemone st. Brigid, Anemone de Caen, Allium Moly & Brodiaea Fabiola and managed to plant them along the front path and in a couple of tubs.

Today I bought another couple of cyclamen and put them by the honesuckle in the back, were I origionally meant put the ones I bought last week, I'm hopng to ge some more next week again.

Looking at the back lawn, it looks as if it needs another cut, but the ground is much too wet at the moment and we had the first frost of winter yesterday morning.

photo of the week

2009-11-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

Rain on the windowpane

Not much of a picture this week, you're probably thinking, but the rain on the window just about sums the week up.

Plants of the month pt.1

2009-11-05T12:28:00.000-08:00

Pyracantha (Firethorn)

Pyracantha brings a blaze of colour to the dull November days. It is evergreen with glossy oblong leaves. In the early summer it has white, frothy flowers followed in the autumn by a multitude of berries, either red, orange or yellow depending on variety. Orange Glow,which is the variety in my garden, can reach a height of 15 ft. Owing to it's vicious spines it makes an excellent boundary hedge, to deter burglars. It is equally at home trained against a wall, (although it is not a climber, so it will need support), or freestanding as a specimen bush.
Fully frost hardy, it is easy to grow but although it appreciates a sheltered site in sun or semi shade it will tolerate a north or east facing wall. Having said this my one has been growing against the east facing wall of my shed in a positive wind tunnel for at least 10 years and seems quite happy. It appreciates a fertile, well drained soil although again my soil may be well drained but I think the chicken manure I dug in when I had potatoes next to it has long since been exhausted! When pruning, cut back outward growing shoots after flowering, so concentrating all the strength against the wall.
Young plants should be planted mid autumn to early spring, about 2ft. apart. Propogate by semi ripe cuttings in late summer or by seed. The seeds should be overwintered indoors and plated out in a cold frame in spring.
The main disease is Fireblight, but this is easily controlled by pruning. The varieties Mohave, Shawnee and Teton are resistant to the disease.
The Pyracantha is immensly attractive to wildlife, the berries being a great favorite with the birds, although the red vaieties are more popular than the orange and the yellow least attractive of all. The flowers attract a large variety of insects and bees. The Holly Blue butterfly lays eggs on it and the caterpillars eat the flowers and berries. It also prvides good nesting sites for birds.
On the negative side, the berries may cause stomach pains if eaten and the spines make pruning and weeding quite hazardous, but apart from this it is one of my favorite plants in my garden, I think it gives really good all year round value and is the first thing I see when I open my kitchen door.

2009-11-04T09:44:00.000-08:00

I thought I had left it too late to buy Cyclamen this year, but on Tuesday I found 3 Cyclamen Silverado, which according to the label should fower late winter, early spring.

I planted them in front of my backdoor, by the table and chairs, so that I can see them if we get any days warm enough for a cuppa outside.

I'm hoping my little sleeping dragon will frighten the slugs away!

Sunday in my garden (shed)

2009-11-02T15:03:00.000-08:00

It was a wet and windy day yesterday, so I spent some time in my candlewokshop in my garden shed.

Here is a selection of the candles I have made there.

From the window I get a good view of all that is happening in the garden without disturbing any visitors to the bird feeders.There is usually a steady stream of sparrows,and bluetits with the occaisional great tit. So far this year I haven't seen any chaffinch or greenfinch.

Inside the shed there is a gathering of snails who seem to delight in eating the labels from the candle perfume bottles! Also, as I found to my expense, it seems to be a favored place for sleepy wasps, one of which I woke up as I picked up a packet of dye!

The gas cooker I use to melt thewax makes it nice and warm even on the coldest of days and the shed is filled with whichever perfume I am using at the time_ Pine at the moment ready for Christmas.

Photo of the week

2009-10-31T14:44:00.000-07:00

This week has been spent clearing the leaves from this little fella's home. He only had about 2'' of water above all the debris!

photo of the week

2009-10-24T13:58:00.000-07:00

photo of the week

2009-10-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

My Ash Tree

2009-10-12T13:48:00.000-07:00

My Ash tree is in the corner of my front garden. It towers above the house, giving shade to the garden and privacy to my bedroom. The sunlight and shadows play on the walls making the rooms inside come to life.
There is a wooden seat undeneath it where I sit for a morning coffee break sometimes, hidden from passers by by the tall hedge whish surrounds my garden, Lilac down one side, a mixture of ash, cherry, berberis and bramble along the front and Buddlea, alive with butterflies during the summer, on the third side.. I always describe my garden to people as the one with the foliage.
Ivy and Dog rose scramble up the trunk of my Ash tree and the air beneath is filled with the scent of Ivy flowers at the moment. When I returned home this afternoon the air was full of the sound of Sparrows squabbling amongst the Ivy on the trunk.
My Ash tree is a roosting place for a number of Jackdaws, crows and/or Rooks. The odd Magpie has been known to visit it aswell, but the Seagulls prefer the rooftops. The Jacdaws nest in one of the unused chiminies on my roof, so far they seem to respect the fact that I need to use one of them! A number of smaller birds flit through the branches and wait for the birdseed to be scattered and tease the cats from the safety of the canopy.
I love my Ash tree, unfortunately my neighbours aren't quite so fond of it!

photo of the week

2009-10-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

Last Sunny Days of Autumn

2009-10-05T13:54:00.001-07:00

Here are some pix I took while making the most of the Autumn sunshine today

Picture of the week

2009-10-02T12:23:00.001-07:00

A Quiet Corner

This is the corner of the garden which catches the early morning sun. My first dog is buried here, and this is were I come to sit quietly and meditate.

Summer in the garden

2009-09-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

I'm not a gardener but I love my garden. It's at it's best in the Spring, probably because I put in most work in the Autumn and Winter. In Spring it's full of daffodils, followed by masses of Bluebells. By Summer it's pretty welldoing it's own thing and gets a bit out of control and by Autumn it's jungle clearance time.
I love nothing better in the summer than to take a blanket, book and a bottle of

wine and watch the butteflies and bees on the Aquilega and Marjoram and Buddlea.

This year it was going to be different. I was going to GROW VEGETABLES. It started off alright.In the Spring the lettuce and radishes and spinach flourished in the cold frame and the beans and peas shot up in pots outside the backdoor. Then the slugs discovered this new gourmet restaurant and said 'Thankyou very much', but didn't even leave a tip. The cat made a bed on the onions and chased the frogs, who were suposed to eat the slugs, into next doors garden. Evan the mint,which has been around for years and I thught was indestructable disappeared. I did have a bit of success with potatoes in animal feed sacks.

I tried crushed egg shells, coffee grounds and lawn clipping around everything, but the slugs obviously hadn't read the books which say these are meant to either be a deterrant or fill them up so much they haven't room for the really tasty stuff. y the time someone sugested seaweed the was nothing left to put it around, so I can't say if this would have worked or not!
A friend uses 'slug pubs', but I hate the thought of fishing out drowned slugs, similarly I'm not sure what to do with any found under grapefruit halves_ I suppose I could throw them next door to join the frogs!

Meanhile the Honeysuckle, Clematis and Jasmine were rambling out of control, the Rosa Rugosa were growing tall and treelike, but not producing as many flowers as usual, and thev Willow tree was going mad forming a roof over the far end of the garden.

So I carried on lieing on my blanket reading my book, drinking my wine and watching the bees on the Aquilega, Marjoram and Budlea.