GARDENER'S WORD - IDEAS AND TIPS

I have six Japanese maples (acers) in my garden.  Katsura and Jordan are planted in borders but the others (Osakazuki, Orange Dream, Moonrise, Sango-Kaku) are in pots, still small. I plan to root prune them in the future, if and when necessary, to restrict their growth in the way that bonsai trees are restricted.  The latest addition is Acer shirasawanum 'Moonrise' which I have now planted in its plastic pot inside a heavier terracotta pot, surrounded by Melcourt Sylvabark Pine Bark Mini Mulch for stability. Right now it is huddled in a little corner of my garden, safe from the icy winds and the blasting sleet and hail which we are getting here today high on the Pennines of West Yorkshire.  Acer shirasawanum Moonrise in a Fiora frostproof terracotta pot Moonrise arrived like a small tree although I had hoped for a more shrubby formation so I could easily grow it as a multi-stem tree.  I can still do that but it means dealing only with the growth above the graft. Belo...

For the last two nights we have had snow here on the Pennines of West Yorkshire and during the day the snow has thawed and we have had sunshine. That works for me!  Apart from that, I'm so pleased to tell you that a lovely Great Spotted Woodpecker has visited my garden again. I first saw it on the first day of January 2020. It likes the homemade fat balls that I make. It's lovely to see it eating seeds from the feed, alongside the small birds. I wondered what sex the woodpecker is and it seems they are very easy to identify.  The male has a red patch on the back of its head, whereas the female does not. Young Great Spotted Woodpeckers are even more easy to identify, from any view, because they are sporting a cap of red until they mature.  It's most definitely a mature male that is visiting my garden. Whether or not it is always the same one is anybody's guess. Sorry the photos are not great. They are taken from a distance through the kitchen window. If I opened the do...

Snow came down today in heavy clumps but, fortunately, it's too mild for it to hang around for long. The sun is trying to make an appearance too. While I love the sight of snow, it can be problematic where I live and can hang around for weeks if several inches of it come down and it's cold enough to prevent thaw. The garden birds seemed to be in a bit of a feeding frenzy today and so I ensured they had plenty of seed and fresh water. It was lovely to see a robin in the miniature James Grieve apple tree . Robin on James Grieve miniature apple tree on snowy day - January 2020 Robin on James Grieve miniature apple tree on snowy day - January 2020 Birds on bird feeding station on snowy day - January 2020

Sitting in a cafe today, an elderly lady began reciting a beautiful poem. The Months by Sara Coleridge. The lady had dementia and was delving into her long term memory.  Sara Coleridge died in 1852, and I had never heard her poem until today. I wanted to share it here because it reminds me of gardening and the weather. January brings the snow, makes our feet and fingers glow. February brings the rain, Thaws the frozen lake again. March brings breezes loud and shrill, stirs the dancing daffodil. April brings the primrose sweet, Scatters daisies at our feet. May brings flocks of pretty lambs, Skipping by their fleecy dams. June brings tulips, lilies, roses, Fills the children’s hand with posies. Hot July brings cooling showers, Apricots and gillyflowers. August brings the sheaves of corn, Then the Harvest home is borne. Warm September brings the fruit, Sportsmen ...

It's the middle of December 2019 and although there was a light covering of snow on the garden this morning, so far we have been spared severe weather. Sure, it's chilly, but that's to be expected; it's winter. I'm going to make fat balls for the birds this week but noticed that the squirrels like them too. Birds have been visiting the feeding station very regularly, greedily, and I wonder if they know something that I don't. Apart from the bit of snow, which soon went, it doesn't look very wintery in my garden. The white bacopa plants in the hanging baskets are still flowering, the parsley is still looking healthy and green, and the hardier ferns are delightful. Ferns in mid December - Brauns Holly Fern Polystichum braunii, left Dryopteris atrata, centre and deciduous Dryopteris filix-mas Euxinensis, right Ferns in June 2019 - Brauns Holly Fern Polystichum braunii, left Dryopteris atrata, centre and Dryopteris filix-mas Euxinensis, right Ferns mak...

It's a busy time in my garden.  Oh, not for me, I'm a winter gardener and I sort of hibernate along with many plants and animals during cold weather.  But the local wild birds are active and the squirrels, coming into my garden daily, regularly, emptying the feeders.  I feed them as fast as the containers empty.  I love this first photo here, of a little fat grey squirrel.  I cannot decide if it's pregnant or just getting obese on sunflower seeds.  I don't know why people don't like them; I think they're cute but then I like rodents and most animal life on our blue planet. Pregnant or just fat cute grey squirrel!  January 2019 Over the last few days we have had icy conditions and a light amount of snow here on the Pennines of West Yorkshire.  Interestingly, the south of England and farther north seem to be getting the brunt of it, which is a nice change for us.  That's not to say that we won't be in for it some time soon....

This is my first post of 2019 so Happy New Year to all who are reading around now.  I've had little to report recently.  One thing that I would like to tell you is that a cheeky squirrel has bitten off the twine ties supporting my dwarf apple tree and taken it away, no doubt to line its nest.  I know it to be true as I saw it do it!   Cheeky little beggar.  Somewhere, up in the branches of a tree or in a cavity in a tree, there is bright turquoise twine!   But I don't resent it.  I welcome wildlife into my garden and if I can help them survive, well that's good.  Anyway, the tree doesn't need support except when heavily laden with blossom or fruit and by the time it does, the squirrels won't need my twine.  Grey squirrel in winter I feed the birds and squirrels all year around, and I make my own fat balls.  I came across a couple of Gardeners World (no, not my Gardener's Word blog) which I thought you might like as they ar...

Yesterday, Saturday 15 December 2018, was perishing.  It was sub-zero out there, and a weather warning of freezing rain was announced as being treacherous (I thought freezing rain was hail or snow!  Aparently not.) and there was even some snow on the ground when I looked outside, early evening.  Today, this morning, got up, blinds up, and there it was - glorious sunshine, blue sky, only a slight nip in the air.  I thought for a minute I had slept long and woken up in spring.  I decided to take advantage of the lovely day and so I went over to a nearby mall for a coffee and a mooch around.  Santa was there, with his little helpers.  Actually, they were collecting for the lonely elderly at Christmas, for a special dinner for them, so I slipped a little something into Santa's stocking! Santa and his charitable helpers. Had to smile at the reindeer with a goat-skin rug on its back!   Santa obliged me with a cheery wave.  Although it was...

I filled those bird-feeders yesterday, and the fat balls filled the containers they are in, but already local wildlife is emptying them.  It's not just the squirrels which are hungry, but the birds are pretty hungry too.  The sunflower seeds are full of energy, as are the fat balls which I make.  Making fat balls is a bit of a messy job but they love them.  It's no surprise that they prefer them to those cheap dried up things that look like compacted sawdust.  I say if you are going to feed them, feed them something which is good for them.   Wild birds dining out in my garden on a snowy March day, 2018 Look how red the thrushes feet are.  Mine would look like that too if I were out in this weather barefooted!! I love to see photographs of birds in flight.  If only I were a better photographer...   However, I am taking the photos from indoors with my full frame Canon EOS6D, through murky glass, so that I don't sca...

I had a shopping delivery to my home the other day and I was telling the guy how hungry the squirrels and birds are in this cold weather.  I said I was surprised at how people went out of their way to ensure that squirrels could not take food put out for the birds, but he disagreed.  I get that.  I am always willing to agree to disagree, but he said that the squirrels cause damage.  I asked how.  He said that they spill the bird seed. Oh, for crying out loud.  How I kept my patience.  They spill seeds from my bird feeders too, and that, in turn, provides seeds for those birds who prefer to eat from the ground.  It's a happy happy circle.  What's wrong with people?  How are they able to decide what animal should fill their little starving bellies or not?  Of course, the wildlife message has gone around now in my area that there is always 'free jocking' at my place.  Grey squirrel with a cute face and handful of food.  March...

We're not going to get out of this winter lightly, here in the UK, are we?  Widespread snow has hit the UK since yesterday evening and even the soft southerners, in Kent and so on, are getting a good taste of what is called "the Beast from the East" as easterly winds (coming from the direction of the east) bring chaos to our roads.  As I plan on going nowhere, I am more worried about the wildlife and farm animals, like sheep.  I think it is lambing time now, isn't it?  I've taken some cute snaps of a visiting grey squirrel and will post them separately.  A friend in Kent sent me a message yesterday saying they are getting heavy snow.  It must come as a bit of a shock.  Here, up north, on the Pennines, we are made of stern stuff and take weather like this in our stride.  Mostly. Snow again across the Pennines, March 17 and 18, 2018 Of course, it's often the drifts that cause chaos.  We've had about 3 or 4 inches of snow and I ...

Well, that wasn't much of a break.  After being stuck indoors for eight days, including on my birthday, I managed to get out this week after it had all gone.  In fact, yesterday was a beautiful day, devoid of rain and snow and sleet and wind.  We had sunshine.  I took the opportunity to drive up to Harlow Carr, to have brunch at Bettys with a friend.  It was glorious.  And when I got home I went into the garden room which had warmed up to a staggering 15 degrees celsius, and read for a while.  But I knew that snow was forecast for this morning and I chose not to believe it.  I chose to tell myself that the weather forecasters have got it wrong before, that they can get it wrong again, but they didn't.  Sigh. Why do they always get the forecast right when the weather's going to be lousy?  But there is beauty in many things if you just look for it, and I didn't have to look far.  I noticed that my Syringa Red Pixie...

Much of the UK has been under snow this past week and I haven't been getting into my garden room.  When I went in today, now that the snow is thawing and clearing, I noted the thermometer reading which told me that the temperature in there had dropped to below minus 4 degrees celsius.  So what was it outdoors?  It made me appreciate more the hardy plants, those producing flowers right now, flowers which have been under the heavy weight of ice and snow for the best part of a week.  Yes, the flowers look a bit worse for wear but they have survived it, those delicate petals.  I mean, the snow has just cleared so the flowers had to have been there, underneath it all, all that time.  It made me realise just how tough they are.  I mean, how long would we humans survive naked and out in freezing weather, under a pile of ice and snow for a week?  We'd last mere hours, not days, that's for sure. Yellow primroses surviving the snow - 5 March 2018 ...

I just finished posting my last item and it started to snow again.  A friend says she has to take her husband to the airport on Tuesday.  Not sure whether she meant Manchester or Leeds/Bradford airport.  She might be lucky.  I am hoping to get a shopping delivery on Tuesday, if there's anything left in the shops by then.  People have been stocking up as the bad weather persists, and while poor transport drivers (they don't get enough credit) have struggled in appalling conditions to get through treacherous snow and ice to supply supermarkets and other shops, not always successfully, shelves have been badly depleted.  The odds of me getting further than the bird feeding station and the dustbin are zero to nil.  Won't do it.  Not in this.  Anyhow, as soon as I posted about the squirrels and the rosehips, along came two lovely lovey doves: Collared Doves.  I've not seen them for quite a while and we have quite a number of pairs around ...