GARDENER'S WORD

It seems to me There's Nothing So Lovely As a Tree VJ Tree over water, Temple Newsam, West Yorkshire Tree near bridge at Thorpe Perrow Arboretum Tree near bridge at Thorpe Perrow Arboretum Abies Koreana at RHS Gardens, Harlow Carr, West Yorkshire Trees by fountain at Cliffe Castle, West Yorkshire Trees by fountain at Cliffe Castle, West Yorkshire Meripilus giganteus also known as Giant Polypore at base of tree, East Riddlesden Hall, West Yorkshire Duck pond at East Riddlesden Hall, West Yorkshire Trees in autumn at RHS Harlow Carr, North Yorkshire Trees by water at Temple Newsam, West Yorkshire Silky mahogany-coloured bark of Prunus Serrula, at RHS Harlow Carr Trees by water at Thorpe Perrow Arboretum, North Yorkshire Tree at Harewood House, North Yorkshire Acer Griseum (Paperbark Maple) at Harewood House, North Yorkshire Tree covered with 'Witch's Broom' Ikley, North Yorkshire Tree at East Riddle...

There isn't much to tell you about my garden now that winter is approaching. We've had a tremendous amount of rain here, high on the Pennines of West Yorkshire, and a little ground frost, but no snow as yet. The garden is being left as it is, a jungle, and I'll leave nature to itself as I pretty much do all year round. As I have a balance disability, I do the least amount of gardening (I've had a no-dig policy for many years - no raking, no digging, no hoeing, etc) that I can get away with while having a fairly nice place to sit in warmer months. Today goldfinches arrived in great numbers and a solitary squirrel. Yesterday I saw a squirrel drinking out of the new bird bath  as well as a squirrel eating a homemade fat ball . They are such a joy to watch. Goldfinches having afternoon tea! You can see the garden looks a total mess, but it is a place for insects to hide, birds and squirrels to feed, and although I read that earthworms were on the decline, I have plenty...

It's not just the birds in my garden which like my homemade fat balls , the squirrels like them too.  As I couldn't find the fat ball holder (I only put them out in very cold weather) the other day, I placed three on top of a pot and noticed this morning that they had all gone. Shortly afterwards, I saw a small squirrel on top of the fence eating one. The squirrel was immediately joined by a magpie. Now, I expected the magpie to attack the fat ball and/or the squirrel but, no, the squirrel was having none of it. I think if there had been two magpies, it might have been a different story; they don't seem to voracious on their own. Squirrel eating fat ball put out for birds Squirrel eating fat ball for birds - Magpie thinks it's good to share Squirrel moving fat ball so it can eat in peace Squirrel - alone at last with fat ball I wish I could have got it all on video but you know how it is, they would have gone before I got the chance.

Well, wow, this RSPB bronze-coloured bird bath was a lot bigger than I imagined, even though I did think I had read the small print when ordering it online. That's not a complaint, mind you. I am pleased with how it looks and if it were stronger (like made of tungsten steel) I might have taken a bath in it myself when the weather gets warmer. According to the RSPB birds need water  (external link) all year round, to drink and to wash their feathers. I live near a fairly large expanse of water but I want the birds that visit my garden to be able to eat, drink, and bathe here.  They are such a pleasure to watch. RSPB bronze-coloured resin bird bath The bird bath is a self-assembly job and comes in four parts: the bowl, two parts for the pole, and the base. They all screw together very easily. I am wondering if it will survive if the big, fat, gormless wood pigeons (bless 'em) arrive and land on it. I can hear them landing on the  garden room  roof (which is fibre-...

I get a lot of birds visiting my all-year-round garden restaurant , and a large number of them are the beautiful goldfinches. Today was no exception but they took me by surprise.  I needed to clean the bird feeder which deters squirrels. It's not the easiest feeder to clean and I do it by immersing the feeder for quite a while in anti-bacterial soapy water and then I rinse with a large amount of boiling water. I think that does the trick. While cleaning that feeder, I filled another feeder and suspended it from my washing line. As it was farther away from the protection of neighbouring trees, I thought the birds might be reluctant to feed from it but, no, the goldfinches arrived in droves. Goldfinches love sunflower seeds Goldfinches eating sunflower seeds from squirrel-deterring bird feeder Seven goldfinches fed from the feeder suspended on the washing-line while others ate seed which I had scattered on the ground for ground-feeding birds and squirrels. Goldfinches lov...

I'm far from an accomplished photographer but now and then my Canon EOS 6D or iPhone 5s, does the trick for me.  These are some of my favourite shots. My garden is slowly going into hibernation now, and me with it. Dicentra formosa Potentilla 'Monarch's Velvet' Begonia 'Bertini Crispa Marginata' Wild Eve rose Osteospermum Sunny Mary  Senecio Polyodon Jasmine officinale Clematis 'Gillian Blades' with jasmine shadow Trailing pelargonium 'Burgundy' buds Zantedeschia (Calla Lily) Gentiana pneumonanthe Hebe 'Purple Pixie' Jasmine 'Clotted Cream' Lewisias Pulsatilla vulgaris 'Alba' Pulsatilla vulgaris 'Barton's Pink' Anemone 'September Charm' Jasione 'Blue Light' Polemonium (Jacobs Ladder) 'Lambrook Mauve' Aquilegia Iceberg - climbing rose Dahlia Dahlia 'Pooh Bear' Red opium poppy ...