obelixx

When to transplant clemetis

I would mobe them now so they can get their roots established over winter ready fo rthe growth spurt in spring.  

Make sure you have their new holes well prepared and that you watre the roots of each plant generously and leave to soak away for at least an hour before digging them up.    Dig them out as deeply as you can with as much rrot ball as possible and then plant them at least 4 to 6 inches deeper than they were.  This will encourage the formation of new shoots for extra flowering stems next summer.

Adding some well rotted manure and/or garden compost to the new planting hole will help too.  Water in well.   Next spring, protect the new shoots from slugs and snails by scattering wildlife friendly pellets from Valentine's Day onwards.

sparrows

Rural, central Belgium surrounded by pasture and arable crops with woodland nearby.  We've planted up former cow pasture to include trees, shrubs, hedges and plenty of bulbs, perennials and grasses plus soft fruit and vegetables.  Plenty of shelter and planty of ssed heads, berries and insects for food.

sparrows

When we moved to this ex farmhouse there was no garden and about 3 sparrows.   We have turned the surrounding cow pasture into a garden, erected a feeding station out of reach of our cats and a ground feeding site away from pouncing cover, feed the birds all year round, sectioned off the ends of our attics so the birds can nest safely in the eaves and bingo, we now have about 30 or so nesting pairs who live in the eaves and produce 2 or 3 clutches each summer as well as others who nest elsewhere but feed and play in our garden.

We also have assorted tits and finches as well as seasonal dunnocks, wrens, and woodpeckers plus pheasants, jays, corws, magpies and so on.

I never spray against pests and diseases and find the birds hoover up caterpilars and aphids to feed their young.   A case of give and take that works for us.   

The cats have never caught one and the sparrowhawk has only caught one pigeon and one sparrow that I've ever seen. 

Ride on mower / mini tractor - help!

Simple sit on mowers are generally best for smooth, flat lawns.  The one's that look like  a mini tractor are more rugged and can cope with bumpier terrain but won't be good on real slopes as they can topple.

You can buy them with grass collectors, without grass collectors or with a mulching action which chops the cuttings up really fine and leaves them to feed the lawn.   We have one without grass collection as they always seem to get clogged and I spent more time unblocking the tubes on the old one than actually mowing.   Friends have the self mulching model and it is excellent but their grass is less lush than ours.

Our new one is a Lazer.  It cost about €1000 3 years ago and should last 10 or 15 years.   I could have got a robot for the same price but OK was agin it.  I'll get one next time though as our grass area will be reduced in the next year or so.  

Very underweight hedgehog found on doorstep

Keep him warm and fed and he'll not feel so sleepy but hibernaton may also be triggered by the shortening of the days so maybe give him light too.   make sure theer's water, and no milk, to drink along with teh cat biscuits.  Cat food is excellent for hedhehogs but they can't digest milk or bread and get diarrhoea which dehydrates them and can make them very poorly if not deceased.

FIR TREE PRUNING and shaping, or not???

You just need to cut down the main stems to the height you want.   The side stems coming from below the cut will still have green bits taht will grow upwards to cover the cut.   Then you can start trimming the sides back bit by bit, always leaving some green foliage to regrow.  Eventually you'll get a decent shape and still have their protective presence.

As for the neighbours' conifer hedge, you have the right to cut off any branches which overhang your garden but must offer them to the owners.   If that leaves you with unsightly brown branches, try scrambling a climber up them to disguise them.   Honeysuckle is quite vigorous and will give you flowers and perfume and will respond well if you need to cut it back.

FIR TREE PRUNING and shaping, or not???

We inherited a leylandii hedge which was 12' tall.  We have gradually cut it back and it is now an acceptable 6 or 7 ' tall and provides a good windbreak and screen for that part of the garden.  We haven't been able to do anything about it's widthe because you have to cut back only as far as green shoots as it doesn't regrow from brown wood.

I would therefore also recommend getting rid of the leylandii altogether and keeping the attractive blue fir if possible.  If not, get rid too cos topping it will look bizarre.

In our previous house,we inherited 30' high leylandii which had been planted as a hedge but never trimmed.  We cut those down ourselves taking off the tops and then the middles and then removing the branches from the stumps and gradually wiggling and axing them out.   It took a while but we ended up with so much more space and light and happy neighbours too.

Clematis montana problem

Slugs are good at processing dead vegetative matter and breaking it down as part of the cycle of growth, death and recycling.  Unfortunately they also have gourmet appetities for some of our treasures so need to be controlled in some parts of the garden.

Apparently ducks like slugs but you'd have to have apond for them and also be prepared for all their mess so best, in my opinion, to live with slugs but manage them where you need to. 

Ive been told,

Tea contains water, obviously, and minerals too so is good for plants.

Don't use rooting gel or powder so can't help with that.

Clematis montana problem

Wildlife friendlypellets do not harm anything except slugs and snails.  Any surplus breaks down into the soil to make a harmless iron compound whereas metaldehyde based pellets kill or make ill all sortsof other creatures.  

I'm not suggesting blanket pelleting so there will be plenty of slugs and snails left over in other parts of the garden to feed hedgehogs and thrushes.  Recent studies indicate that hedgehogs don't actually eat that many slugs anyway.

Encouraging bats in our gardens

Beechgrove this weekend

Weekend 22 March

Good Morning - 21 March

Choosing chillies

Hanging baskets and window boxes

New shed - any tips?