Arbuthnot's Profile

My real name is Verlie (rhymes with Early) and I am a self taught gardener. At one time I knew most of the Latin names of the plants in my garden. Alas, I now have a hard job even remembering the common names!
Moved from a very large rural garden to a tiny urban one that was virtually empty except for a lawn. My biggest disappointment is that there are two neighbouring houses either side with unkempt gardens and a brick wall at the back of my garden. The latter gives some shelter, of course, so I'm trying to hide it with a Sambucus Nigra and an Amelanchier ballerina but it will take time.

I'm not very good at growing from seed but I cannot come out of a nursery or garden centre empty handed.

The biggest disappointment is that I see few birds despite feeders and plants to attract them. I've lost count of how much birdfood I've had to throw away because it just isn't eaten. There is one exception though - fat balls and starlings! Amusing though they are I've stopped giving them food as they clear it all in a couple of hours. Costs a fortune and the poor smaller birds end up with nothing.
This is a good site as the questions aren’t confined to certain categories which means you can read all of them without messing about moving from one page to another.