Gardening

[Hugo]

A fresh fall of snow last night left the garden quite deep in snow.   We are still snowed in but there is no need to clear the drive as we don't need to go anywhere

[SteveH]

A good excuse not to do any gardening, also I hope you are both feeling better, and things are improving, we had some fun yesterday, you may recall our visiting pigeons, they turned up, absolutely soaked, so we opened the patio doors to see if they would eat off the door mat, no hesitation straight in, walking around the kitchen, very reluctant to go back outside, extremely comical.

[Hugo]

We are both feeling a lot better thanks Steve, our Covid tests are now negative and we have been isolating for a while now.   As you can see from the photos we are going nowhere until the snow has gone
That was a nice gesture that you did for our feathered friends and they would appreciate your kindness, I just hope that they left nothing behind for you to clean up
In the fresh snow we had today I went in to the garden to check all the bird feeders but I didn't see any animal tracks there.   Normally there would be a Badger or Fox's print  but today nothing at all, not even a Cat's print
The Daffodils have had a bit of a hammering but there's nothing I can do about that now

[SteveH]

Maenan Hall Garden open to the public under charity scheme
Opportunity to visit a magnificent garden while supporting good causes at the same time.

The garden at Maenan Hall, will be opening again through the National Gardens Scheme on April 25, from 10.30am-5pm, with the last admission at 4.30pm.

Pre-booked tickets to visit the garden, in Maenan, Conwy are available on www.ngs.org.uk/view.garden. Admission costs ?4 per adult, children free. No change will be given. Proceeds will go towards the various charities supported by the NGS.

No refreshments will be provided but picnics are welcome.

[DVT]

SteveH ...
... where did that info come from?  I have clicked on the link and get error 404.  Searching for Maenan from their home page https://ngs.org.uk/ and then "Find a Garden" says it is open on 7 May and 30 July.

[SteveH]

SteveH ...
... where did that info come from?  I have clicked on the link and get error 404.  Searching for Maenan from their home page https://ngs.org.uk/ and then "Find a Garden" says it is open on 7 May and 30 July.

DVT, Heres the link  ....... https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/maenan-hall-garden-open-to-the-public-under-charity-scheme/

It popped up this morning, by chance, sorry no further info.

[DVT]

Thanks Steve ... the link included on that site still goes to Error 404 ... no doubt it will be sorted!

[SteveH]

No Mow May: People urged to avoid cutting their lawns this month
It could prove to be very beneficial to nature

The warning has been backed by Sir David Attenborough himself, who has urged people to "delay mowing" for the sake of the environment. He made the call on his latest BBC series, and it has been backed by other wildlife experts, reports Yorkshire Live.

This is because insects and wildflowers use lawns to breed, pollinate and otherwise maintain a healthy ecosystem at this time of year, and shredding the grass down interferes with all that. It is said to be killing off lots of insects that are an essential - and increasingly threatened - part of our ecosystem.

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/no-mow-may-people-urged-26817249?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[DVT]

Mowed mine last week ... now have a nice show of dandelions which the insects love ... if I had burdock as well we could have some dandelion and burdock to drink, favourite when I was a kid!  Quite a few daisies and buttercups as well.  Let the insects feast.

Gets me out of mowing it again until next month!

[Hugo]

Sounds like a good idea and a good excuse for me not to mow the lawn.   I mowed the grass last week but after mowing,  the Dandelions appeared on the shortest of stems.
My lawn has a number of Cowslips in it and a few Common Spotted Orchids so I'll be able to watch them grow providing of course that our dog Teddy doesn't bite the flower heads off  like he used to do

[SteveH]

Some colour in the garden, and an unusual find on the edge of the drive, what looks like a Pidgeon egg tucked under a plant?

[Hugo]

Pigeons seem to nest all the year round so you'll probably find more eggs sometime in the future, by the way that's a lovely plant where the egg is, what is it called?

[Hugo]

I do like gardening but I've made a number of mistakes by planting things too closely or not knowing what they are or how tall they would grow or spread
For instance, the Maple in the corner of the photo was a present given to me by a neighbor and it was in a pot for years and when I did come to plant it in the garden it was about 3 feet tall but now it is way above the 9 foot Laurel Hedge behind it.     Likewise the Rhododendron on the right could eventually grow to 23 feet in height

[SteveH]

Pigeons seem to nest all the year round so you'll probably find more eggs sometime in the future, by the way that's a lovely plant where the egg is, what is it called?

This is one of my favourites, they are African Daisies, ours is Hardy Osteospermum ?  we have them on one side of the drive, they give a good display if cut back the previous year.

The small Lilac tree against the fence, was from an end of season clearance at BM, I think we got about ten pots for a fiver, this one was planted three years ago, but this year it has really taken off, but I will remember to keep it in check.

[Hugo]

That's a very attractive plant Steve and I can imagine that they look impressive on your driveway.    Mrs H bought a plant from Home Bargains at ?3.49 and it's called Senetti on the label and it looks a bit like yours but ours is in a pot.
I sent away for a Poppy last year and this morning I saw the first flower on the plant and it looks very healthy but I can't remember the name of the variety of poppy