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Latest blogs
Finding treasure in the compost heap, spring ladybirds and early bees
Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:55 GMT
With the key to the garden door now in my possession, I made my first proper foray into the garden this week. For some time before taking on this garden, I’d had my eye on the big compost heap against the north facing wall. Whilst it is hidden from the big house, I can see it from the kitchen window and have wondered for many months what it contains, so it was with a sense of both satisfaction and anticipation that I approached it, fork at the ready. The top layer was made up of grass cuttings and I dreaded finding a heap of smelly, anaerobic sludge , but underneath this top layer was a mix of grass cuttings and the prunings of perennial border plants and, much to my pleasure, a great many worms. These are compost worms, of the Eisenia species , and they are busy breaking down the heap into usable compost, so their presence is very welcome; I hope to find some ready to use compost further down. On putting my fork to soil in the borders, I have my fingers crossed that I’ll find plenty of worms there too (these will be Lumbricus rubellus , which prefer to live in soil rather than compost heaps, pulling plant debris beneath the soil). There is certainly enough organic matter on the surface to keep them happy! Walking along the long border and looking at the rather bedraggled remains of last year’s perennials, I spotted the first ladybirds of spring, warming themselves in the sun; they are very welcome too as they and their larvae will help to keep the garden clear of aphids.
Read the rest of this blogA window opens to a garden full of birds
Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:59 GMT
We have been offered the use of the walled garden outside our kitchen window. This is in addition to the large courtyard we already use and the garden, on a nearby farm, where we grow vegetables.
Read the rest of this blogWoodpeckers find a louder drum
Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:09 GMT
Up at the garden this week, we heard the sound of a male Great Spotted Woodpecker hammering its beak against a tree. They do this to announce their presence in the area and can batter against a tree trunk up to 40 times a second, which makes you wonder why they don’t get headaches. If we did that, our brains would swirl around inside our skulls and we would soon be unconscious and, even if we weren’t unconscious, then we’d probably be very uncomfortable and no doubt quite cross as well. Fortunately, nature has provided woodpeckers with an efficient shock absorbing system, which means that their brains are able to absorb the blows, avoiding concussion, so allowing them to hammer away as much as they want to. There are plenty of trees around the garden for the woodpeckers to hammer against, but some woodpeckers have discovered that they can make a louder drumming by using telegraph poles instead of trees. I first discovered this several years ago, when I was wakened at first light by the sound of the bedroom radiator vibrating. This happened on several mornings during the next couple of weeks and, initially, I was mystified at what could be causing it.
Read the rest of this blogAmazing woodlice
Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:19 GMT
What better way to recuperate after minor surgery than a spot of light gardening and wildlife watching. Fresh air, sunshine and gentle exercise certainly take your mind off things; you end up feeling incredibly virtuous and may even pick up new knowledge along the way. So it was that, after a day’s garden pottering, I discovered on returning home that, according to the Natural History Museum , the UK has some 37 species of woodlouse. In all, there are over 3,000 species and some of them even live in the sea. Bet you didn’t know that. Anyway, it was after helping someone to remove a clump of pampas grass (actually, all I did was cut back the foliage) that I looked down into the hole left after rolling the root ball out of the way and saw an especially large and fine looking woodlouse. It was one of the biggest I’d ever seen and, unlike many other woodlice I’ve come across, this one had a pale fringe around its shell and spots of the same colour along the length of its body. It was beautiful, a tiny living work of art. The ground here was damp and shady – not a good place for a pampas grass and the plant wasn’t thriving; in fact, half of it was rotting and quite smelly, so it wasn’t surprising that woodlice had set up house there. They breathe through gills, so a soggy, rotting plant would be ideal. I thought back to other woodlice I’ve seen and dug out a picture taken a few years before of a smaller, brown one that I’d seen in a compost bin, which had appeared to be in discussion with a slug. They were quite different.
Read the rest of this blogLily the bear and frisky pigeons
Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:19 GMT
This last week, I’ve been distracted from paying attention to the wildlife in my garden by wildlife of a very different sort, from the US. An article in the paper prompted me to look at a webcam , which has been set up in the den of a pregnant wild black bear, called Lily , who lives in the currently frozen wilds of Minnesota. Lily was about to give birth and I found myself gripped with fascination and suspense, staying up well past my bed time for more than one night, until she gave birth to her first cub. Imagine having bears on the doorstep! It’s just as well I don’t live in the US or I’d probably never go anywhere except the forest. Here in the UK, the snow and ice melted long ago (at least a week) and although more cold weather is forecast, the birds have reacted to the increase in warmth and the hedgerows have been filled with songs and cooings. It’s a welcome change from the silence of the freezing weather, when most birds hadn’t the energy to spare for singing. Anticipating the coming of spring, first off the blocks are the wood pigeons . It’s easy to tell when pigeons are thinking about mating because they’re so obvious about it. I’ve seen them in the courtyard this week, one following the other, with the following bird continually bobbing its head in an attempt to allure its mate. Then, there is the increase in cooing, which is another give away.
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