My Garden

Idle chat

Last post 22-11-2009 11:30 AM by richardpeeej. 4422 replies.

• 22/11/2005 04:59 PM

  In reply to

  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 4,743

  Reply | Contact Hello all, more idle chat is anyone lucky enough to have uktv gardens? lots of makeovers but some good GW and year at Kew, something to watch when its too inclement outside. Muntjac deer they are the tiny ones i think? not native to the uk though China wasn't it?.In these parts we have lots of Roe deer but they are not very popular,They have been in my wifes horse fields and apparently because they are not vaccinated the ticks from them can cause illness to the horses. We do have a recent arrival of badgers though, and locally they are known as "old men", but we keep well away from where they live so as not to disturb them. At home we have across the road a hotel which has a small wooded area and an owl lives there and visits at night (v noisy) at the back of the house is a park with a large wooded area and all around here we are overrun with grey squirrels. I know they do lots of damage but they are good to watch and very cute. Once i saw a jay fly into the garden for some nuts but i think it lives in the park.There are loads of leaves available here due to all the trees i have a vac shredder and i keep all the leaves in bags to rot quickly.The vac is good and is a blower as well but its noisy and heavy so can only use it for ten minutes a time and have a rest. I think we have a wren in the clematis montana up the side of the house, but we do have wrens down at the allotment . digger

• 22/11/2005 07:40 PM

  In reply to

  sue1002 Location: Ipswich, Suffolk Joined on: 06 Sep 2005 Posts: 5,200

  Reply | Contact Hi all, been interesting reading what you are all up to. I gave up watching UKTV, everything seems to be being repeated, or have they started showing some new ones? Miranda - me and swiss white chocolate are best buddies! Sorry to hear about those of you who have lost their faithfull friends, I too lost a dog two years ago this coming new years eve, the hardest decision I ever had to make was to let him go, he was on medicine for arthritis for over a year and towards the end he lost all the muscles in his back legs and knew he was in pain when I gave him a cuddle and he growled at me. I had to get my other half to ring the vet, I couldn't do it myself. Not a day has gone past when I haven't thought about him. We knew he was on his way out and his replacement was a female version and she is a right bitch. She was six months old when we lost him, at one time we could never leave her alone in the house. One day I was only gone for 10 minutes to go up the school and when i got back, I could smell gas. She had only managed to turn one of the knobs on the gas cooker, I had to turn it off, open the door and windows on a cold February morning and go outside for a fag! What do I do, I'm a lady of leisure - my other half goes out to work to earn the money and I spend it! I've had my seed order already from T&M for next year - just waiting for the spuds. I've never grown them before and ordered the spud tubs to plant them in as I don't have too much garden space. They are made of black plastic which forms a tube with another plastic bit to put in the bottom. They were supplied with tent pegs which I assume are to be put through the holes and staked into the garden. However as soft ground is in short supply I am going to put them in upside down so that the compost will (hopefully) hold them together and hope for the best. Now I'm not in the garden much these days I am getting up to date with my cross-stitch kits. I once bought a kit where you send off a photo and they turn it into a chart and you get a replica of the photo. I had one done for each of my dogs. I then saw the computer program in a shop and bought it for £15 so I can do my own. It saves at lot of money as I paid £18 for the others. Now I am doing one of my aunt's dog and am half way through it, I was hoping to get it finished for Christmas, somehow I don't think so, it will have to be her birthday present instead. Bye for now sue1002

• 22/11/2005 07:55 PM

  In reply to

  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 4,743

  Reply | Contact Hi sue1002, The cross stitch sounds like a splendid idea for christmas prezzies, In all we have three dogs my two, and my wife has a Patterdale terrier who is also a really nasty piece of work she was bought from working parents my wife thought she would be ok to kill rats etc down the stables and on the chicken run. I must admit that she does a good job but she looks just like Gnasher from the Beano and her temprament is bad. Even now at three years old she can wake up and start snarling and growling at me for no good reason! and for some spooky un godly reason whenever most haunted is on tv the horrible dog stares at the wall behind me and wails like a banshee(spooky or wot?) The noise patterdales make has to be heard to be believed more like a Tasmanian devil than a dog.But i wouldn't part with her the dogs are good fun and help to keep me active except in winter i prefer to stay in by the fire. bye for now digger

• 22/11/2005 08:33 PM

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  Becky Location: Joined on: 19 Feb 2005 Posts: 56

  Reply | Contact My, what is the matter with this bulletin board!! I just noticed that part of my posted message two days ago was cut out... Sorry about that, but I think I was trying to explain to Miranda what an internship was! Today I saw a lovely green woodpecker at work, hiding behind a plum tree. I love watching all the birds around our nurserey, although we're in the middle of town we're surrounded by trees with lots and lots of birds. I only wish I'd know them all by name... Icy cold outside, glad to have a warm fire going! Hope this post is not cut apart or whatever... Becky, Switzerland

• 22/11/2005 09:12 PM

  In reply to

  anthemis Location: Joined on: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 317

  Reply | Contact ---------------- On 11/22/2005 4:59:16 PM digger wrote: Muntjac deer they are the tiny ones i think? not native to the uk though China wasn't it?. I think they were brought into the park at Woburn Abbey (just up the M1 from here) at some point they escaped and found the countryside in Beds and Herts much to their liking. Very partial to hardy cyclamen, hardy geraniums, hostas and new growth on roses. They are good at jumping so you need quite a high barrier to keep them out.

• 22/11/2005 11:03 PM

  In reply to

  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 4,743

  Reply | Contact I have done some digging and i have discovered that the Muntjac were indeed at Woburn abbey and they are native to China apparently in cumbria there is a large population of the blighters,also there are wallabys in the Macclesfield area! further south to where i am (thankfully) and we have Coypu in Norfolk where i believe Ken69 is from, and damned american crayfish all over the shop and according to Bob flowerdew(also from Norfolk) we have a large population of marsh frog(foreign) and edible frog also foreign. May be some one else knows of other foreign species on these shores? ah yes in N.Yorks we now have the European Eagle Owl which is not native to us and due to it's foreign status has no protection at all and can be shot quite legally, incidentaly if you catch a grey squirrel deliberately or not ie stuck in a bird feeder it is illegal to release it and it is illegal to keep it in captivity once saw a chap on a wildlife show release a trapped squirrel(v naughty) foreign species u c digger

• 23/11/2005 02:05 PM	In reply to
  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 4,743	Reply | Contact More idle chat I posted this on the beeb sometime ago,my dear old Uncle told me this rhyme"Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden were feeling rather jolly, but what will they do in the wintertime when the only leaves are Holly?". digger

• 23/11/2005 04:41 PM	In reply to
  Jak Location: East Sussex Coast Joined on: 23 Nov 2004 Posts: 159	Reply | Contact ---------------- On 11/22/2005 23:03:14 digger wrote: May be some one else knows of other foreign species on these shores?---------------- I think there is some sort of Asian crab undermining the banks of the Thames with it's burrows, and has anyone mentioned Mink? Jak

• 23/11/2005 05:35 PM	In reply to
  sue1002 Location: Ipswich, Suffolk Joined on: 06 Sep 2005 Posts: 5,200	Reply | Contact I heard that too Jak on the local news last week. The Chinese Mitten crab has been found in the River Great Ouse in Norfolk, they fear it will make its way to Cambridge or Milton Keynes, they eat their way through the river banks and they will eventually collapse. We have enough with rivers overflowing in this area without the help of the blighters! sue1002

• 23/11/2005 06:05 PM

  In reply to

  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 4,743

  Reply | Contact Yes invasion of the crabs i really don't like creatures with more than four legs! Mink are very vicious and should be avoided a friend caught a mink in a live catcher rat trap in his hen coop! mink will kill all poultry if they get the chance needless to say once identified the mink was dispatched humanely. Invasion by foreign critters is entirely of our own making i beleive in the south of England there is a large flock of parrots on the loose. It is all too easy to bring all manner of things into the U.K. everything from the disgusting practice of eating "bushmeat" (monkeys etc) not long ago some of this evil cargo was discovered at Heathrow, so if things like this are sneaked into the country other creatures can easily hitch a ride. The millipede story is quite true on the other thread but the onus is placed onto the country of origin to ensure no stowaways. digger

• 24/11/2005 07:55 AM

  In reply to

  miranda Location: Oxfordshire Joined on: 17 Nov 2004 Posts: 2,976

  Reply | Contact ---------------- On 11/22/2005 12:21:49 PM anthemis wrote: I and my OH are retired and enjoying being able to spend more time in our garden... What is your mail order business? We ran a small business and I know what hard work it can be.---------------- Hello Anthemis. I'm looking forward to the day when I have more time to get into the garden. Had a couple of comments earlier in the year about the lawn looking 'rugged' which I thought was a bit cheeky. This person also said the garden was looking untidy; wasn't sure how to reply since he is one of those who rely heavily on bedding and strip everything out at the end of September, leaving bare earth till the following year. Still, I bet we get more wildlife than he does! Our garden also backs onto woodland though, thankfully, we are not troubled by deer. Get a lot of pidgeons in the garden and expect to see more this winter as there was no beech mast this year. It's lovely to look out on - the rising sun shines on the trees and turns them to gold and copper. In the evening, the setting sun casts shimmering tree and leaf shadows through the windows. It can be quite mesmerising. Yes, running a small business is very tiring and often goes seven days a week!

• 24/11/2005 08:03 AM

  In reply to

  miranda Location: Oxfordshire Joined on: 17 Nov 2004 Posts: 2,976

  Reply | Contact ---------------- On 11/21/2005 7:02:06 PM digger wrote: Miranda i am deeply sorry for your loss I lost my faithful labrador 'Archie' a few years ago and i was in floods of tears i know how distressing it is to lose a friend, on a more cheery note when i finished work a friend of my wife gave me a bull terrier he is 9 now ---------------- Thanks, digger. Yes, it was incredibly painful for both of us when Toby died. We were a well-integrated pack! I reckon I cried more in the six weeks after he died than I ever have in my whole life. Didn't leave the house for a week. Glad to hear that you've got another dog; once you have one, then life without a dog doesn't seem right, does it? We'll look for one in the new year, I think. A rescue dog is what we'l be after. Heinz 57.

• 24/11/2005 08:12 AM

  In reply to

  miranda Location: Oxfordshire Joined on: 17 Nov 2004 Posts: 2,976

  Reply | Contact ---------------- On 11/22/2005 8:51:41 AM anthemis wrote: Someone ( I think her name was Jane Wareham)says we don't take gardens seriously. She seemed to think gardeners were too keen on plants. ---------------- What a load of old poo. How can a gardener be too keen on plants?! That's the whole idea, surely, plants? If it isn't full of plants then you can't really call it a garden, it'll just be an outside...area. Barren and sterile. Oh, that sort of attitude makes me want to go out and buy MORE plants, even if there isn't room for them! Here, I've been experimenting for the last two and a bit years, a la Beth Chatto - working to get the right plants in the right places, so they'll like it and decide to stay, and trying to achieve year round flowers somewhere in the garden. It's a wonderful headache and I love it. It does mean a lot of plants, though.

• 28/11/2005 09:04 PM

  In reply to

  Lorac Location: Joined on: 27 Nov 2005 Posts: 6

  Reply | Contact Hallo everyone Thanks for all the advice on gardening and slugs. Its going to be an interesting year. I'm going to encourage the birds a bit more - at the moment all we get is pigeons. We have a lovely tree in the garden, planted when my eldest daughter was 1 to give us a bit of shade. She is now 36 and the tree fruits millions of little berries in the summer. the pigeons love them. They eat so much they fall off the branches and have to flap really hard to get back on the tree. But they don't eat the slugs! So its a bird feeder with lots of tasty titbits - someone said apple pieces were good for thrushes and possibly a pond ( although I think that might be hard work for a weekend gardener) I'll try Digger's idea round the delphiniums.I've bought some gardening mags and had a good read and there's so much info on this website I hardly know where to start. Bye Lorac C Hewitt

• 28/11/2005 09:17 PM

  In reply to

  Digger Location: Northern UK Joined on: 18 Jul 2005 Posts: 4,743

  Reply | Contact Hi everyone, we have had some snow today about 3 inches,someone has donated a load(5tons)of bricks i am going to use some for pathways on the "lottie" but due to the adverse weather my wife said it was too slippy to go and collect the bricks so i stayed in whilst the "O H" went to the stables. I noticed a little wren hopping about in the front garden probably looking for food, the nearest thing i had to hand was a cheese and onion flavoured pringle so I threw it out of the window in the direction of the bird but it flew away, I will have to get a bird table but i am not sure what a wren will eat any suggestions please, in fact i thought wrens flew away for winter? digger