I am becoming obsessed with the snails’ behaviour on my Hosta and started a small experiment earlier this summer. This is the result – the plant on the right lives in a pot outside the house where the snails have to traverse a gravel driveway and cement to get to their target. Child’s play apparently. On the left is a plant that has been sitting at the side of the house in a bowl of water. It is placed on a piece of old, black plastic that I recycle over and over again. Not a snail in sight. Both come from the same parent plant so that is not the issue. You have to admire the snails’ tenacity outside the house but as they will soon be picked off by the birds and dropped on the concrete it is not all plain sailing for them.
I am still working on the remodelling of the small garden in front of the house. At the moment the hydrangea dominate the area, but I will try and select some suitable companion plants over the winter to act as a contrast.
This has been a very good summer here for bees, as they have invaded the wild heather and herbs that are dotted about the garden. I was not aware that they were so keen on thistles. Instead of flitting from flower to flower, they have spent a long time on each one. I presume that this means that they provide a good source of food.
The Inula hookeri has attracted some cabbage white butterflies in the last few weeks, but even they are few and far between this year.
In contrast to the front garden this area is a very sorry sight. After years of trying to save a diseased Viburnum ‘Eva Price’ hedge by ruthless pruning of the affected areas I have admitted defeat and cut the hedge to the ground. I will miss the beautiful show of flowers over the winter and have still to decide whether to remove the plants completely or see if they produce healthy shoots. I suspect it will be the former.
Whenever I am a bit dispirited about the state of the garden I visit this corner. Situated at the bottom of a steep hill it was once an open field and I did not have much confidence in my ability to plant it successfully. Now it is a lush sheltered spot and I can even find some escape from the winds in the winter. The two eucalyptus trees may have to be turned into shrubs eventually but I am keeping my fingers crossed that they won’t be blown down in a storm.
This was once an open space by the house which was completely exposed to winds from all directions. I used hydrangea as a small windbreaker when I first moved to here even though it meant losing the view although you can still see it if you stand on the table. The trees that I planted in the background have also matured and I have now finally got a small area where you can dine without been blown away. What I had not factored in this year was the rain. I have ‘dined’ in the area twice. The rest of the time I have admired the colours from indoors.
At last, I have found some shieldbugs. Their favourite plants here are the Wild and Sea Carrot and I have been checking the fruit umbels each day for some signs of the creatures. This one was packed with Green and Hairy varieties of all levels of maturity. I hope that the recent cold weather does not put paid to their development.
I have no idea what the attraction of thistles is for shieldbugs. But this plant was covered with them. I rather like this photograph as the bugs had no interest in helping me to snap them and the wind was very strong.
This – plant reminds me to leave all brassicas in the ground until the birds have stripped them of all of their seeds. Small flocks of birds visited the plant for weeks until there was nothing left.
The small garden where I have put my raised beds has been a mixed success. It is sheltered and would be very sunny – if we had any sun. As it is, my summer vegetables were not very impressive and the cold nights did a lot of damage. There is always next year and I do have the winter vegetables to look forward to, so fingers crossed!
I have been very pleased with the success of my wildflower garden especially as it has attracted a lot of insects. At this time of the year, it starts to look very untidy and does not conform to my previous narrow views of a garden. At times I have to grit my teeth and resist ‘tidying it all up’ and remind myself that this may not suit me but it definitely suits the wildlife in the garden.