March
Interplant
Interplant your outdoor sowings of fruit and veg with flowers - attractive
not only to the human eye and nose but to loads of useful insects which will help
to protect your crops. Companion planting is also a good idea - for instance,
onions and garlic planted near carrots and roses can help prevent carrot root-fly
and aphid attack.
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This
winter gardening
companion, the robin,
is likely to take a great
interest in your tree planting
activities as your digging
unearths worms and other
tasty morsels.
Photo: JB and S Bottomley
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Cut back
Cut back herbaceous perennials and annuals that seeded last summer. Leave
the cuttings where they fall for a few days to allow creatures to find a new home
amongst this year's growth.
Plug-plant
Plant plug plants for meadows and herb gardens.
April
Pond Month!
Here are a few tips for creating a wildlife pond which, if built now, will
develop quickly:
- choose a level site and incorporate a marsh
area which can take the natural run-off from the pond
- reach a minimum depth of two to three feet
in the centre of your pond
- make sure at least one edge of your pond
has a shallow slope to allow wildlife to get in and out, drink and bathe
- line first with damp newspapers and builders'
sand or an old carpet to prevent damage to the liner, then use butyl rubber; to
calculate the size of liner use the formula (maximum length + 2 x maximum depth)
x (maximum width + 2 x maximum depth)
- cover with a sand/subsoil mix (as little
nutrition as possible, to prevent algal growth)
- buy only native pond plants - contact us
for advice on species, as non-natives which pose a huge threat to our wild waterways
are widely sold at garden centres and nurseries across the country.
Early May
Enjoy the fruits of your winter labours
Spring bulbs are in full flower, trees are in full leaf and creatures are
beginning to move into your newly created wildlife areas. Sit back for a while
and take it all in! Whatever the weather this quarter, enjoy your wildlife garden!
Sally Pyner
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Anniversary Wildlife Garden
The Trust's 40th anniversary in May will get off to a special start when
we will feature a Cornish wildlife garden in the main marquee at the Cornish Celebration
of Gardens.
This event is being held to welcome Her Majesty the Queen as part of her own Golden
Jubilee celebratory tour of the UK, which starts in Cornwall on 1st May. The display
is being held at Trelissick Gardens and will carry on throughout the May Bank
Holiday. |
For further
information on any of the jobs you can be getting on with this quarter, contact
us on (01872) 273939.
For native trees, pond weeds and other plants, contact Bosilliac Nursery, Mawnan
Smith, on (01326) 250922.
For quality, safe bird food and feeding equipment, contact our sales outlet at
the Market Garden, Penzance, on (01736) 331824. |
My
garden friends
Patient gardening Has led them here To delve
and hunt among the leaves and compost heap. Emerging from their daytime sleep
To feed on slugs and snails. Uncontaminated No poison here When daylight fails
I welcome once again my garden friends The hedgehogs.
S Wickens
Mrs Wickens enclosed this poem with her response to the Environmental Records
Centre, thanking Information Co-ordinator Nic Harrison-White for his helpful advice
on hedgehogs in the garden. |
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