More to eat my plants!
6 comments
While standing near the back door loading the washing machine, something caught my eye. Dreading that this was the visiting rat which my OH has unintentionally encouraged by feeding the tame robin, which comes indoors if you leave the door open, he puts crumbs down on one of the flowerpots for it, I looked a bit more carefully.
Not a rat – but a baby rabbit! While watching that one, two more appeared from behind flower-pots and eventually there were six!
Very sweet and you may well go ‘Aah’, but they will get into huge big rabbits that will eat even more of my plants in the front garden. I have already had to cover the emerging Dahlias with wire hanging basket frames to prevent them being even more nibbled. Now of course we have had two days of rain so ideal for the multitude of slugs that weren’t killed off as the winter was so mild, which of course the basket frames won’t keep away!
Lily beetles attacking the lilies – the plants are having a hard time of it. To cap it all the peacock has ‘trimmed’ the Snow-in-Summer which was growing nicely in a large pot so will have to be moved if it has any chance of trailing over the edge – together with the other peacock favourite, the trailing Campanula. OH even saw it pecking at the Phlomis the other day, I could give it the benefit of the doubt and say it was pecking the insects – but probably not.
The baby rabbits all scattered behind plant pots and back under the shed where they were probably born. There was a nest in the derelict greenhouse which had been dug out, I think by the resident stoat, so the rabbit must have moved under the shed.
Why they can’t stay on the field I have no idea, probably a better variety of ‘edibles’ in my garden!
Other possibility of course is the visiting Fox which has picked off various chickens on the field at different times, so we kept them shut in the big run. But last week it dug it’s way under the fencing from the ditch and cleaned out one chicken hut and of course took the three remaining Call Ducks. About eight chickens gone including the large cockerel, so we have eleven chickens and two cockerels left who are all a bit traumatised. Such is life in the countryside!
1 Jun, 2016
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Comments
Oh blimey......it's lovely to see the wildlife but, perhaps at not such close quarters.All you need now is deer......
1 Jun, 2016
Thank you all for your comments. I know Sheila that they are really cute, even I watched them for a while when they appeared again, but I know I will be swearing later when I look out the front window and see a gathering on the front grass! I went to Gooderstone Water Gardens and they have a label showing the browsing height line of the Muntjac deer, so no thanks!
You're right Paul, it is lovely to see the wildlife, but as I said I don't want the Muntjac here, though we have seen the odd one in the garden so they probably aren't far away.
We had a Hare which stayed for a few days, I wouldn't mind if he browsed for a while - I'd put up with that, rabbits - no thanks!
You are right Meadowland about trying to rabbit-proof the garden, you have to dig it down so far and then across as well and we have heavy clay, large tree roots and nettle beds (Oops!) to not want to try that particular hobby.
Son had a brain-wave about getting someone in to put new high, rabbit/fox proof fencing around the whole land and garden - any ideas how much that would cost for a 1.1/2 acres!! He didn't offer to pay unfortunately.
1 Jun, 2016
Honeysuckle, I share your frustration. We have lots of land in the country....no fences, lots of wildlife, including deer, rabbits, racoons, minks, slugs and even a bear or two. It is a challenge for a gardener. Isn't it? One day I want to cuddle them and next day chasing them with a hose. Between slugs and rabbits, my dahlias are gone. I saw a first baby deer yesterday. Momma was showing it around my garden. Cute little speckled "thing" which will be after my plants in no time. We do not have any dogs which helps....at least my friends claim. I have lots of wire protection around my plants. Just a different kind of gardening.
2 Jun, 2016
We are everywhere in nature! baby bunnies! could you perhaps find something they adore and feed it to them in a specific area? I planted a wisteria last summer and the deer found the plant during the winter. It has been well trimmed back and the new shoots look healthy. Maybe they saved me some work? It's strange, but we don't have any rabbits in our area... just foxes! Have only seen two young hares in the last year. I have an area which was once a large lawn. It is now becoming a meadow with alfalfa and clumping grasses and wild flowers. The deer come to enjoy the alfalfa and so far, have only fed on the cedars and a struggling agave and miraculously have left my hostas untouched.
Could the bunnies be trapped and released elsewhere?
2 Jun, 2016
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You have something of a wildlife sanctuary there, Honeysuckle . . . what a trial for you. It must be very frustrating trying to grow things, so I haven't "liked" your blog, but (sorry) I do love to see baby rabbits.
But then we only have muntjac deer nibbling in our garden (occasionally)!
1 Jun, 2016