Using shingle in a decorative garden

 A while back, I wrote about the perils of using cheap membrane: specifically, using it under shingle, not because it's less efficient at quashing weeds, but because it's horrible to work with.

 

I've had a couple of people asking me for more details about the picture which I used to illustrate that article, so here are some details of that project.

The garden in question was a small, secret garden: it was made up of four sections, one of which had been laid out on a strict geometric formation, in neat squares.....

 

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Squirrels: the saga continues

 

Ok folks, you remember the plot: back in July, I shared the story of my fortified birdhouse, intended to keep marauding squirrels out. 

 

A fortnight later, I put up a low-quality video of the squirrels tearing into it, in frustration. Or so I thought.

At the end of July, I sadly had to report that they had breached my fortifications, prompting me to announce "now it's war!" and to butch up the wires, and a few days later, all seemed to be going well.

So, three months on, how is it faring?

 

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Penstemon v Willowherb: how to spot the difference

It's that time of year when the Penstemon are still going strong, and we all love Penstemon, which are going from strength to strength these days:- more variety of colour, longer-lasting, and often truly perennial.

 

They have trumpet-shaped flowers, often with a splash of white inside them, and they flower for a long time, through summer and right into autumn.

But at this time of year, the weeds are also springing up and, more to the point, starting to set seed.

I was working with a student last week.....

 

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Pond planting - the cheap way

 

One of my Clients asked me to dig them a small wildlife pond, and they asked me what plants they should get, to go in it.

First - as Mrs Beeton would say - Dig Your Pond

 

Having dug out the shape, with various depths, shelves etc, we then lined it with old towels (and a few tea towels, we didn't think it would matter) to prevent damage to the liner, which we then spread out.

Traditionally, I believe “one” uses sand, but we didn't have any sand, and we did have a huge pile of ancient towels....

 

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