Sometimes it’s nice to be a victim of one’s own success…. Sometimes less so! Having just planted out our spring bulbs at the wildlife garden, imagine our chagrin at finding many of our crocuses and tulips gobbled up by naughty little voles… Well, I hear you say, it IS a wildlife garden… Touché!
The ecologist in me says (once the impotent rage has subsided) that nature will soon redress the balance, and predators such as weasels and owls will soon capitalize on the abundant food source. (Believe me, it really is abundant, especially after last year’s mild winter, and this one looks no better.) To this end, last week the volunteers and I put up owl boxes out the back of the garden at the edge of the water meadow locally known as Skaters’ Meadow, and we also built several ‘weasel lodges’ – substantial log piles designed with a central cosy space, hopefully a des res for local weasels. Fingers crossed!
Although the garden is closed for winter, we do have a few open weekends at the garden - the Big Garden Birdwatch on 24-25 January, and Snowdrop Weekends on 14/15th and 21/22nd February. As usual, we’ll have family-friendly activities on the go, as well as plants for sale and advice on gardening for wildlife in winter & spring. Hope to see you there!