|
 |
 |
|
| Go greener |
|
| With a growing number of gardeners eschewing chemicals in favour of natural alternatives, we can suggest some effective products from our organic gardening selection |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Relax and refresh |
|
| Good food freshly prepared daily, aromatic coffee, chilled wine and a grassy play area for the children. What more could you need? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Food heaven |
|
| Our Farm Shop is heaven for food lovers! Delicious handmade food, top quality groceries, fresh fruit and vegetables and stylish cookware and gifts. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| The Discovery Walk |
|
| As thousands of daffodils herald the spring, stroll or stride around our Walk while the youngsters enjoy the Nature Trail |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
 |
|
|
The birds and the bees (and the badgers!)
|
| Thursday, 24th July 2008 |
|
|
|
IN THE GARDEN WITH PETA MARSHALL
You know the delight some gardeners have of opening their gardens for charity? It’s a great thing. Much of it comes under the auspices of the National Gardens Scheme (which produces the annual Yellow Book of gardens that open).
Well, my garden is always open! The visitors come and appreciate the little changes and improvements I’ve made since I’ve lived here, and there are plenty of flowers for them to enjoy. There are even areas where they can relax and take refreshment. The pond has a particular fascination for many of them.
But my visitors don’t pay a penny (although they often spend a penny over my plants – and garden furniture!). Many come at night, when I’m in bed!
But I don’t mind at all – in fact, I positively welcome it. Of course I’m talking about wildlife visitors.
The reasons that mammals and birds visit our gardens, of course, are predominately food, but also shelter. Sanctuary and cover is provided in plenty by gardens with shrubberies and sheds, trees and (increasingly) trampolines, and the wildlife frequently prefer the fenced and walled seclusion of domestic gardens rather than the open fields or dangerous woodlands where predators can get at them more easily.
So, how do you attract more of them to your garden in winter?
Birds: Blackbirds, thrushes, tits and many other birds are a delight to see. They exist to feed! They often need, it is claimed, more than their own weight in food per day. The garden centre will give you lots of ideas of what feeds to give the wild birds in your garden. There are seasonal feeds, and all-year-round feeds. And there are mixes for different groups and types of birds, too. Blackbirds go for fruits (such as raisins and sultanas), peanuts, mealworms; the tit family like peanuts, sunflower hearts, black sunflower seeds; robins prefer mealworms and waxworms, and so on.
By supplying the correct types of bird food, your feathered visitors will be more content with their lot and, hopefully, leave your other plants alone!
But also you can grow a few plants in your garden that encourage insects, and provide nesting sites for birds. And try to include some native species, as these tend to attract more insects off which the birds will feed.
Ponds: These are teeming with wildlife. When you first install a pond, flying insects such as beetles and dragonflies soon move in, and amphibian reptiles like frogs and toads appear as if from nowhere. There is real joy when you first discover a newt (or rather, a family of newts) in your pond.
Minuscule creatures are often carried on the wind from one watery haven to another – so why shouldn’t they land at yours?
Informal ponds make the best environments for aquatic wildlife, as well as non-aquatic animals, such as birds, bees, butterflies and foxes.
Formal pools, which have straight sides, perhaps few plants, and maybe gushing fountains, will be fairly inhospitable places for insects and delicate aquatic creatures. So, too, will ponds that are geared up for crystal clear water, perhaps with sophisticated filters and UV clarifiers, which can neutralize tiny creatures as well as unwanted algae. My top five ‘do’s for creating a wildlife pond are:
Do…create a sloping beach-like effect to your pond, with a gravel or mud edge, which wildlife will adore.
Do…have an area of rockery near to the pond, which can offer sanctuary to amphibians, such as frogs, toads and newts.
Do…create a central island within the pond, as a haven for small birds and insects.
Do…grow lush bog garden plants, with a good canopy of leaves, to give small creatures essential protection.
Do…allow dead and decaying wood to become a feature of your wildlife pond; these places can support many types of insect, as well as fungi, mosses and lichens.
Insects: We’ve touched upon bees and butterflies already, but these are certainly the most welcome of any of the insect family. Planting buddlejas and sedums willl guarantee visitations from these insects and in plenty of variety.
Mammals: And now to the animal visitors…the only advice I can offer here is to provide wildlife shelter, such as log piles, thick hedges for birds and dense shrubberies where lots of dry leaves on the ground can provide hibernating and resting places for hedgehogs.
You can put up bat boxes, and you can put out cat food for the hedgehogs, foxes and badgers. You can leave areas of long grass for slow worms and grass snakes!
There is much you can do to encourage wildlife to your garden. And it’s a joy to watch – as long as not all of it visits in the dead of night! Happy gardening!
Nature Walks
Don’t forget, Priory Farm is set amidst stunning countryside … visit our Discovery Walk and explore it for yourself! Stroll along the paths and discover fascinating snippets of information as you go … enjoy panoramic views and bold displays of flowers that appear from early spring.
It’s a natural project and changes with the seasons and there is always something new and interesting to discover.
We have lots of new features for 2008, including a low bridge from which to take a good look at the inhabitants of our lake and feed the ducks and other feathered friends who live there. Youngsters love the nature trails. Every child gets a free badge and pencil and the chance to win a £10 voucher in a monthly quiz draw.
Entry price: £1.50 per person. Open 7 days a week, Mon - Sat 9am - 5pm, Sun 10am - 5pm
This week in your garden
Don’t forget to continue harvesting early potatoes. If the ground is needed for new crops, clear the bed and store the tubers.
Sow winter radishes; these will take up to three months to mature, and they are bigger than normal radishes, so you’ll need to use a large pot or tub.
Make sure that before the end of summer you prune you plum and cherry trees, to avoid silver leaf disease.
Cut a few springs of container-grown woody herbs, such as mint, rosemary, thyme and sage, and dry them for use in the winter.
Drag blanketweed out of the pond with a rake or forked stick. Remove algal scum by drawing a sheet of newspaper over the surface of the water.
Peta Marshall is the plant centre manager at Priory Farm in Nutfield. Website: www.prioryfarm.co.uk
NEXT WEEK: Summer-flowering rockery plants
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
