Lilymac's Profile

We moved to this house with our FIRST garden about a year and a half ago and although I was desperate to get a garden for years, now I don't where to start with it!

It's very much a wildlife garden. We are completely spoiled with the variety of birds that visit and although it's cost a fortune feeding them all it has been so worth it. The squirrels have been more of a problem and within a very short time we realised just how destructive they can be. And they drive our poor dog mad! So we invested in lots of squirrel proof feeders and just make sure their peanut box is always topped up so that they leave the bird stuff alone. We also have our fox family who visit every evening for dinner.

With the garden, we also inherited the pond which has been a lot of hard work. When the first springtime came around, we realised there were two koi carp in the pond which must have been hibernating. So we put a lot of effort into cleaning it up, installing a pump and filter and even adding another two butterfly carp only for a few months later to have a heron take three of them for breakfast! Poor things, if we'd left the pond dirty, the heron would never have seen them!
Talk about learning the hard way?! But there's still plenty of wildlife in there, loads of newts and a fair number of toads and also lovely plants, including a water lily that we put in last year which we've still to see flowering.

As for plants, well our soil is not very good, it has a high clay content and so far any planting has not been too successful. We also have a big problem with slugs and snails who last year devoured my lovely hostas. In the short term, I have just been planting in pots but hopefully, in time we will get the soil and the ground coverings sorted and I will be able to start real gardening. I am very proud of the lovely honeysuckle in the front garden. Last year it was looking a bit leggy and i attacked it with the pruning shears not at all sure wether i was doing the right thing or not. But this year it has bloomed beautifully. A gardener once told me that it's all about just trying something to see if it works and he was right, it's the best way to learn.

Just bought a few mini greenhouses and trying my hand at tomatoes, herbs and strawberries. So far so good. Had a lovely salad with our own rocket, chives and coriander. The basil so far has been a disaster 'cos of the slugs!

This is just the start of what will probalby be a lifelong project for me - wish me luck! Will need all the advice I can get on this forum!