I'm happy that wild mallard call the Priory home. But I could do without the acute guilt trip they laid on me last year - even if it was well deserved. For the past couple of years, one of my (many) must-do jobs has been to replace the ancient, dilapidated duck nesting box on the … Continue reading The Duck Nest Box
Environment
March Of Snowdrops
A few years ago, a friend gave me a barely liftable, large trug of snowdrops. I was very, very grateful and happily began adding them to the Priory's meagre showing. Eventually running out of time, I temporarily stuffed the last few into a small bed beneath a standard Viburnum tinus 'Eve Price'. And there they … Continue reading March Of Snowdrops
Win A Copy Of ‘Making A Wildflower Meadow’
I try to keep only a sensible number of gardening books - really I do. I've even given some away to charity ... once or twice. But occasionally I'm offered a book to review and my resolve shrivels. 'Making a Wildflower Meadow: The Definitive Guide To Grassland Gardening' by Pam Lewis was one of those … Continue reading Win A Copy Of ‘Making A Wildflower Meadow’
Wordless Wednesday: Vole & Dunnock
They might have stood a little closer together.
A Spot Of Rain
January tends to be wet in Sussex but this year it was seriously, I'm-not-kidding-you wet. Lying at the bottom of a valley, the garden is a convenient sump for all the run-off from the surrounding woods and fields. During and after heavy rain, water streams through the grounds and into the ponds; it races through … Continue reading A Spot Of Rain
A Happy Ending
The day after my adventure with Cyril and The Cast Sheep, I walked up to the farm to see the new arrival. Margaret was delighted (and relieved) that the unfortunate ewe had not only made a full recovery but delivered a strapping, healthy girl-lamb too. She was less delighted to be woken at 1am by … Continue reading A Happy Ending
Cyril And The Cast Sheep
(Apologies for the poor quality of these photos. Under the circumstances, you'll understand why I used my smart phone rather than my 'proper' camera.) It was only when I befriended a farmer, that I learnt how a ewe might lie down, inadvertently roll on to her back and, tortoise-like, be unable to right herself. This … Continue reading Cyril And The Cast Sheep
The Anxious Gardener 