WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE GARDEN TODAY 2023

That is what I call a "fly by shooting" well, pronounced with very squashed sideways O's...

 

I work in social housing and we sometimes have a contractor fit bird spikes to tenants’ guttering to prevent the pigeons sitting/roosting where they are not wanted (they don’t get hurt, it just deters them and they move elsewhere).

 

Not up to much in the garden other than being a slave to the watering can and the odd bit of weeding . I did pot on some lunaria chedglow seedling I found in the front garden yesterday and potted on some astrantia seedling I sowed last autumn collected from own plant . Made some pots / baskets up as well for some clients more like friends really . Lots of visits to the garden centres recently back again tomorrow, I do wonder what they think when I return yet again, one claimed last week I'll never fit 2 trays of begonias and 10 pots of pelargoniums/others in my rucksack didn't see the emergency bag inside the rucksack coming did he .

 

That's exactly what my hubs made for our garage and driveway area a few years ago . It worked brilliantly straight away and still does, as you say no birds get hurt it just makes them move on to somewhere else and not poop all over the car and driveway.

Where there's a will there's always a positive way.

 

Hi,

Just watering what you've recently planted Logan must have tired you out but your garden will soon be a blaze of colour admired by all who see it; well done.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

Strings put up for tomatoes and cucumbers, watered and fed things in pots and greenhouse.
Tried out new strimmer.

 

Plant out sweetcorn, courgettes and squashes, later plant out flowering plants, pot up dahlias for front of house, move more things out of greenhouse to harden off.

 

Thanks Colin, at the moment I've only planted a few things so the watering is going to get larger. I have got a hose but it's too fiddly to get it set up, i just can't be bothered, but it's good exercise going up and down the path.

Not much today going to see my friend Marion.

 

Did a bunch of weeding in the allotment, heavily watered everything, put some netting over the lettuce as a bit of shade and to help with water retention. Need to sow my psb, swede, winter cabbage. Pulled a walla walla onion as it was bolting, makes for a nice fat sweet spring onion

 

Watering and fed the Tomatoes and Strawberries. Did a good amount and sorting out of the two large hardy Fuchsias ,trying to restrain their spread a bit this year as they always end up smothering everything in their
shared border.

Picked a lettuce and some Radishes to add to our salad.

Enjoyed lunch outside and just letting in go down before carrying on in the garden.

 

Hi,

Pigeons were taking over my life and my thoughts so this morning I took control and sorted the problem out.

Three nests now evicted; I browsed the web first; pigeons here tend to breed in springtime and Autumn so I was delighted there were no eggs or chicks;


We've had three badgers visit us nightly for years; here's one; they're all welcome.

Here are two of our manure spreaders cheeky as can be tormenting me.

Pressure washed only a short time ago why bother. Steps by bottom garden hut.

Steps to middle of the garden; how many bird lovers would welcome this on a daily basis.

The big blue spruce nesting tree; extremely difficult to climb due to steep angle of branches; it must be over ten years ago I went up with petrol chainsaw and "Topped" this tree removing 15' from its height
Very hard work taking all morning to remove three nests; four lengths of timber bolted together with piece of angle iron top end; getting it up to the nests was a nightmare with lots of twigs deflecting it but it did work and I didn't have to climb the tree. It's a big tree and the most difficult tree I've ever climbed.

No pigeons were physically hurt in any way; no eggs or chicks which pleased me so it was perfect timing; I'm not against pigeons only the sheer amount of mess they've caused over many years; I couldn't put up with this dirty chore cleaning up every day any longer I'd had more than enough; their cooing didn't bother me just the mess.

I'll keep a keen eye open in future; any new work making nests will be removed before any eggs are laid; this is as far as I'll go I won't hurt them; I'm sorry to have to do this it doesn't sit well with me. If they now decide to nest in our two mature oak trees I can climb these without too much difficulty to check the nests for chicks; eggs I'm not bothered about after all hens lay millions of eggs every day and even those making laws tend to ignore this.

Before removing the nests I wandered up the mountain with my laptop and played the Peregrine Falcon singing at higher volume; the pigeons just carried on cooing above my head; removing the nests hopefully will now give me some peace at last.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

Do they have Peregrines in OZ.