We have birds
nesting in the garden this spring.
They have arrived about four years after the
box was put up, even the housing market in the bird world is running on a go
slow. I’m pleased to see the soft fluffy materials being taken into the box.
Their beaks are full to bursting with all sorts of materials to make it cosy
for the chicks when they come.
Wildlife is
important in the garden and a new survey just released has confirmed this.
Although it’s not the number one priority for the garden, it comes close.
The survey
was conducted by The Irish Garden magazine and Mr. Middleton's Garden Shop this
year and they asked customers a few questions about their gardening habits.
There were only 1500 people asked in the survey and there were specific
questions, so it’s not a huge amount of customers being asked but it’s given
the industry a bit of a pointer about where the latest trends are going.
The survey revealed
that we are a fairly romantic bunch. Surprisingly for me the rose is still the
most popular flower in Irish gardens with 24% giving it their vote. They might
have lovely flowers but the thorns jump out at me so they wouldn’t be my first
choice. I prefer to admire them in other
people’s gardens or large amenity displays than have them in my own garden. There’s
no denying that the colour, shape, long-flowering, fragrance and romance are a
bit attraction. The next most popular is
the Sweet Pea (20%) and Daffodil (15%) probably because of their ease of
growing. Next came Peony, Lily and Clematis.
The survey
also revealed that our favourite things about the garden are beautiful flowers
and vibrant colours (77%). The second favourite thing was the ability to
support wildlife (60%) which I’d put equal top of the list as biodiversity of
plants and flowers will attract the wildlife. I think if I was doing the survey
I would ask about edibles in the garden as that doesn’t seem to get a mention.
Other
favourite things the garden brings are entertaining friends and family, fun for
children, somewhere for pets to play and a feeling of satisfaction working in
the garden.
‘Sitting
relaxing’ came up pretty high too which I totally agree with, emphasising that we
truly appreciate the sense of wellness that a garden can provide.
I’ve not
been relaxing much this week though. I’m doing my best to dig up the wild
garlic in the beds before they set seed. The flowers are out in force and are
attractive enough (in a white bluebell sort of way) but the plants are really
invasive. I’m still not sure where they came from but it must have been seed.
We haven’t introduced the plant into the garden to my knowledge.
They do have
their virtues as the whole plant is edible, from the flowers to the bulb. They
have a milder taste than conventional garlic and the green shoots can be used
like spring onions. I have filled four large compost bags with them so far and
as yet none of the remaining ones are setting seed. I doubt I’ll get them all
out this year but at least I’ll be on top of them. I’d be a bit wary of even
putting small clump in a pot too as the seeds seem to get everywhere. I doubt
very much this plant will make it onto the Irish gardens ‘favourite flower’
list anytime soon so I think the rose will stay on top for a few more years.
There are
other more relaxing things to be getting on with in the garden this month.
- Plant out summer bedding at the end of the month but watch out for late frosts. The garden centres love a late cold snap as it will mean you buying twice as many plants to replace the ones you lose.
- Regularly hoe off weeds to stay on top of things, catch them before the flower and set seed (I learnt the hard way with my garlic) Maybe put a bit of mulch down too.
- Open greenhouse and polytunnel vents and doors on warm days. Open up propagators too to get some air flowing.
- Mow lawns weekly if possible as this makes it easier throughout the season. The mower is less likely to clog up with wet grass if you are only taking an inch or two off the top each time.
- Check for nesting birds before clipping hedges.
- Lift and divide overcrowded clumps of daffodils and other spring-flowering bulbs.
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