• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

IN OUR GARDEN 2023

Status
Not open for further replies.
Strawberry Hunter said:
Ooh, I hope you find out what it is! Raining on and off here, just like yesterday. I'm sure it's early April showers. I will stick to indoor jobs. Luckily I got my car cleaned yesterday, in-between the showers.

Looking forward to seeing my bulbs come up that I purchased from the supermarket.
Click to expand...
hi kat...i took a photo of my new wheelbarrow i planted a few weeks back..will try and post it later on...

lyn
 
Caught this little chap(esse) on the camera a couple of nights ago. It is (we think) a beech marten. Not seen it on camera before, but a couple of years or so ago we had one take up residence in our roof space above the bedroom. The issue came when (s)he came back early morning and started feeding off the vole or whatever had just been caught. This included grinding up the bones and apparently stomping around with boots on.
(Cover your eyes), this resulted in Julie charging round the bedroom banging the ceiling with the head of a broom, using phrases that defied translation into either English or French. Me, quilt over my head.
Then it just stopped.
Now I am worried it is back again.
fouine.jpg

Andrew.
 
Our first tulip was open when we got up this morning. Lovely red colour.Looked out an hour later and the head was gone. Squirrels!! Any thoughts on keeping them away would be much appreciated?
 
superdad3 said:
Our first tulip was open when we got up this morning. Lovely red colour.Looked out an hour later and the head was gone. Squirrels!! Any thoughts on keeping them away would be much appreciated?
Click to expand...
I know that chilli pwder on peanuts is supposed to keep squirrels at bay (birds don't seem to mind and still eat the nuts). Not sure if it would work round tulips.
 
Covroad said:
Some suggestions from the RSPB for 2023

News, features and updates

rspb.org.uk rspb.org.uk
Click to expand...
Alberta said:
As part of the smooth running of the Forum it is our policy that a Moderator will set up a recurring thread in general Discussion at the start of each year.
Sadly in the last few weeks of December moderators had to delete many very off topic posts on the Gardening thread including a couple of contentious ones that meant a ban for a member.

Hence the new title In Our Garden 2023.

Like many of our members I look forward to your posts and photos of your gardens including the wildlife that visit you.

Happy New Year. Alberta
Click to expand...
841EBF5E-8E71-4FED-9813-3B1DC855E2AA.jpeg841EBF5E-8E71-4FED-9813-3B1DC855E2AA.jpegMy favourite visitor to the garden. Always watching what I’m doing!
 
Lovely pics, my camelia is coming out, it's red, that pink one is really beautiful in the pics.

How naughty of the squirel eating the tulip, hope you get that sorted.
 
Horizontal rain here for a short burst. Now the sun is out. Bit of a pain walking about outside because we get progressively taller due to the sticky ground. A few brave tits were still feeding from the window feeder despite the rain and wind.
A while ago, a small mature woodland over the road and up a bit, about an acre, was felled to the ground. The area is upwind from us, and took the power out of our weather. We have certainly noticed the difference in our garden now the wind isn't being slowed down. Subsequently, an amazing machine was brought in that ripped up remaining stumps, and crushed quite large rocks down to gravel. Quite a spectacle to watch and listen to. Just recently, the whole area has been replanted with saplings, so give it several years and we might get our protection back.
We prefer planting saplings to planting bricks there.
Andrew.
 
Brummie a long time ago said:
Caught this little chap(esse) on the camera a couple of nights ago. It is (we think) a beech marten. Not seen it on camera before, but a couple of years or so ago we had one take up residence in our roof space above the bedroom. The issue came when (s)he came back early morning and started feeding off the vole or whatever had just been caught. This included grinding up the bones and apparently stomping around with boots on.
(Cover your eyes), this resulted in Julie charging round the bedroom banging the ceiling with the head of a broom, using phrases that defied translation into either English or French. Me, quilt over my head.
Then it just stopped.
Now I am worried it is back again.
View attachment 178784

Andrew.
Click to expand...
Thanks Andrew, we don't have these in the UK. Pine Marten we do have, but not in the Midlands. I think your remedy might be good old-fashioned mothballs and play them music at night.https://www.pestium.uk/pests-in-house-and-home/animals-that-merely-live-in-the-house/beech-marten/

A student of mine made a study of her grandmother's European Edible Dormice (Glis glis) which are found in lofts centered on St Albans.
 
Stokkie said:
I think your remedy might be good old-fashioned mothballs and play them music at night.
Click to expand...

During the last visit, about 2 years ago, we did put mothballs down in the roof space. The result was no moths in the roof, and an old wardrobe smell in the bedroom :). I put a trap cage up there, nothing caught, but the visitor departed shortly after, so I can say the trap worked. We have some anti fouine granules ready in case it does take up residence.
Music ! It makes enough noise chomping and stomping, I don't want to encourage the little blighter to start dancing, or bring its mates over for a good rave night out. (Apparently they have a preference for Iron Maiden, I prefer The Shadows).
We are fine with it running around outside, it doesn't do any damage. It does have a taste for voles and mice, and unfortunately birds eggs.
To cap it all, the mole is back ! :mad:. But not in the loft.
Andrew.
 
A bit windy here last night.

arch1.jpegarch2.jpeg
Luckily the Jasmine was strong enough to catch the arch without breaking. The arch has been supporting the Jasmine for about 8 years. We will have put something back in place of the arch, the Jasmine will need it.

On the good side, our 2 Lilac bushes are budding nicely, and the forsythia is already displaying.
lilac.jpegfors.jpeg

The pots are fine too
pots1.jpegpots2.jpeg

Andrew.
 
Brummie a long time ago said:
A bit windy here last night.

View attachment 178889View attachment 178890
Luckily the Jasmine was strong enough to catch the arch without breaking. The arch has been supporting the Jasmine for about 8 years. We will have put something back in place of the arch, the Jasmine will need it.

On the good side, our 2 Lilac bushes are budding nicely, and the forsythia is already displaying.
View attachment 178892View attachment 178891

The pots are fine too
View attachment 178893View attachment 178894

Andrew.
Click to expand...
Surely that`s not all your garden is it. Looks more like a park. You need a few sheep to keep the grass down ! Yellow bush looks cheerful, is it a Broom ?
 
Smudger said:
Surely that`s not all your garden is it. Looks more like a park. You need a few sheep to keep the grass down ! Yellow bush looks cheerful, is it a Broom ?
Click to expand...
No, it is not all our garden. Part of it ;). We are in about 1.4 acres, bounded by dry stone wall all the way round, (except for the gateway, and that was created by taking stones out of the wall). We are not quite square, slightly trapezoidal if that is your thing. To be truthful, it is not garden, it is a field, that I keep trimmed with a petrol driven ride on sheep. Only a small part in front of the house is maintained by Julie as a garden in the regular sense. We do not have much topsoil before we hit rock, in a few places the rock breaks the surface. Before the house was put there, it was used as a horse grazing field, quite a common land use around here. The yellow bush is forsythia. When we came, there were quite a few mature Junipers, but they have mostly reached end of life, or succumbed to climate change, and we have had to take them down. We do have a few oaks on our perimeter, and there is a huge walnut tree in a far corner on our neighbours side of the wall.

We have just erected this.
greenhouse.jpeg
Luckily it survived the wind. 2m x 4m, for bringing on things.

How about this for an impressive colour.
dhmoth.jpeg
Its a Death's head hawk moth caterpillar.

Andrew.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top