rosiella

Ericaceous soil

We have an area of garden where we want to plant acid loving plants - but our soil is mainly heavy clay and certainly the hydranegas wehave planted there seem to only live for one season.  Our local garden centre have just advised us to mix ericaceous compost with the existing soil but we wanted to create a proper planting area - once thew compost has broken down we will be back to square one/  Has anyone any ideas as to where we can get a couple of tons of soil from or what we should do?

Bird feeding

We have a similar problem so we now hav e a bird table with a post that the rats cannot climb and with a table that is large enough to take an old roasting tray.  We put all the stuff that we want to feed to the birds onto this tray and then take it in as soon as dusk starts to fall.  We also have other feeding sites in the garden - one is a dish sat into a disused bird bath, and we hang fat ball feeders on trees outside the house - again we take everything in at night.  Again, this makes it really difficult for the rats and where we used to see them in the garden during the day when they were hungry, now we rarely see them at all.  Many of ouor neighbours have got dogs that go for the rats but unfortunately our dachshund and leonberger just bark at them if they find them - not a lop of help at all!

Olive Trees

Last winter we lost almost half of our garden because although it is south facing it is open to the elements all round except for immediatly in front of the house.  This year we have been advised to wrap vulnerable plants in gardeners fleece which will protect the plants but allow them to breathe and then to cover them in some form of polythene wigwam with holes made in the sides so that the plants do not "sweat".  This should mean that they are protected against the hard frosts and bitter winds that we get, but also that any rain sleet or snow will run off the wigwam cover - we certainly cant afford to replace ev erything again, so are hoping that these measures will be effective - they might be worth a try for you.  Certainly friends of ours, similarly situated, who lost olive trees last year are trying the same tactics.

Ericaceous soil