March garden chores

I started the annual clear-up in the nice weather & now rained off!!  Strategy is to cut/prune/dig up & throw two-thirds of the garden away & restock with more bird/insect friendly planting!!

Although our large woodland garden is pretty full already with tons of various large shrubs which give a lot of shelter for the birds, but we also want to plant more berry bearing ornamentals and butterfly friendly plants/shrubs;   Rowan, Pyracantha, Buddleia, etc,   we already have vast numbers of mature Laurels, holly, choisya, Japanese acers, Skimmia, Rhododendrons, etc........  and are lucky to have over 50 mature trees: Oaks (mainly) but also Beech trees which Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, Treecreepers, Jackdaws, Crows, Jays, etc., seem to love.     We also have added two large tree ferns (Dicksonia) and have noticed that the Blue Tits like to take the centre (crown) bits for their nesting material;   we already have a pond and water feature which was added a year ago, made of sandstone/rocks/sea pebbles which now attracts a lot of birds who drink and also like to bathe in the waterfall area.   Since moving to this house two and half years ago, we have not stopped gardening but are now reaping the benefits of all the new plants and features;   birds are flocking in and we are looking forward to a busy springtime with around 16 new bird nesting/roosting boxes and hubby is talking about putting up an owl roosting box at some stage   LOL !    We tend to let the old flowers die back to ground level, as you say Ian, it leaves seeds that the birds may wish to eat, then eventually we have a good tidy up.    There are tons of leaves each Autumn, as you can imagine with all these 100ft. trees, and we make sure as to leave plenty in the border for the Blackbirds and other ground feeders to turn over in search of insects and the rest we heap up in a huge mound for composting, others we cannot handle go to the local green tip.    So far we have counted 26 different species of bird in the last year (although some just come and go throughout the year) since we added a lot more plants and the pond/waterfall.      So good luck everyone and happy planting !

When we had sunny days about 5 days ago, I was turning the soil over and giving the garden a good clean from bird muck or fallen seed. Plenty of worms in the soil though and no doubt some birds would have been foraging!

I also have some wildflower seeds germinating in the greenhouse here and at my dads, so plenty of food for the bees!! I also have some cosmos growing too which the bees also liked.

Our garden (Birmingham suberb) is starting to be ablaze with crocus and snowdrops. At the end of Oct. I planted my sweet pea seeds in a cold greenhouse. They are now 4/6 inches and looking good. I too have left most of my border plants or a while.

May be rotavating the whole lawn and starting again with it...lot of work to do that though so not sure if I will or won't! Plus it means having to wait for the grass to grow and won't be able to use the garden for agility with the dogs...think I may scratch that idea.  The border will be weeded a bit (apart from the weeds that I like in the corner that are providing good ground cover) and may be planting the apple trees in the pots somewhere in the garden, probably along the border or in the area dedicated as the "wildlife garden".

I'm away in oxfodshire for two weeks as of today so won't be getting much done! Already seen half a dozen Red Kites so well happy as we don't get them down in Somerset!

I did start digging out under our arch onto the lawn area as it was lower than the rest of the lawn and constantly flooded! I have also started another raised bed surrounded by trellis which sits on one side of the arch to match the one on the other side. This then gives us separation between the patio and the lawn with only one point of access through the arch. I was worried that the birds might not like the change as this is where the feeders are but they have adapted to it well and are now enjoying their new 'large' perch!!

Only other job I've managed to get done is sowing some wild flower seeds a couple of weeks ago, I've already got corn flower, corn marigold and some rudbeckia coming up which is a bonus! I do feel like I have made a start ready for the lovely warm summer that we must surely get this year!?....

Have to say with Siskin and Brambling still on the feeders amongst all the other finches I'm quite happy to have another month chilling out a little! However come April/May!....

Higgy

Up until today I was about to careful start tidying and clearing but that is shelved for a bit whilst the weather sorts itself out.  Then sadly it will seeing what trees have been damaged and restoration work I think.

Caroline in Jersey

I'm yet to clear out all the dead stuff!  We've beem under a bit of snow and the ground has been frozen solid for a couple of weeks so basically I'm not venturing out to do any gardening!

What an amazing array of icicles - never seen so many!!!