Common Hill Nature Reserve - April Update

 Sunday 24th April 2022 and time to revisit Common Hill Nature Reserve. April has been cool and dry in Herefordshire but today was sunny with a cool NE wind - maximum temperature of 19 ℃ in our Hereford garden - somewhat cooler at Common Hill though pleasant enough in the sunshine.And what a transformation...

The Cart Shed and Broxwood Court

 Bluebells at Broxwood Court (27/4/22)Today (27/4/22), we had a short ride out into the beautiful Herefordshire countryside - a mixture of greens (pasture) and yellows (oilseed rape) - to visit Broxwood Court, near Pembridge. The occasion? A Spring Plant Fair to raise funds for The Cart Shed, a...

Pet Hate #1

In a recent edition of the Herefordshire Council's residents' magazine, there was an article on recycling. I think there is always an article on recycling, probably because we are, as a County, so bad at it. It included a useful summary of what can and cannot be recycled (see below), an item on reusable...

Slugfest: Nematodes vs Limax Maximus

 vsFor more than half the year (Autumn, Winter and early Spring), we allow garden slugs (e.g. Limax Maximus or Leopard Slug) pretty free range to enjoy the garden and its produce. They are particularly good at hoovering up plant debris and decaying matter; although any especially voracious slugs,...

Frogspawn Update

 This year (2022), frogspawn appeared in our small garden pond on or about the 23rd March. Generally, froggie parents disappear once the eggs have been laid though they may hang around in smaller bodies of water - where else would they go? There was evidence (a splash as you approached the pond)...

Start of the 2022 Asparagus Season...

First asparagus spear of 2022 (April 14th)April 14th and the first out-of-focus spear was spotted in our small asparagus bed of 5 Eclipse plants. Over the next two days, it grew and became more focussed...First asparagus spear of 2022 (two days later on April 16th)The year's crop is about two weeks...

Daffodil Season at the Weir Garden!?

 Our last visit to the Weir Garden, a National Trust garden in Herefordshire, was on the 29th January and we were treated to a lovely display of snowdrops.Snowdrops at the Weir GardenWe had missed a few opportunities to return to see the daffodils including, earlier in the week, when we turned...

Butterfly Hunt at Haugh Woods

Good Friday (15/4/22) and it is a lovely sunny day in Hereford. BBC reports it as the warmest day of the year so far with a temperature of 23.4 ℃ (74.1 ℉) in London. Our Davis Weather Station recorded a high temperature of 22 ℃ in the garden between 2pm and 5pm.Sunny days without too much wind are good...

Big Garden Birdwatch 2022 - Results

Robin looking for worms in the gardenAt the end of January, Mary spent an hour counting the birds in our garden as part of the Big Garden Birdwatch 2022. Her sightings were summarised here and the results were sent off to the RSPB. Over 11.5 million birds were counted by almost 700,000 people.In our...

Good Spuds by Planting on Good Friday?

 I have always sown maincrop seed potatoes when the environmental conditions seemed right - generally, in mid-April when the ground has warmed, the probability of a late frost is low and the promise of April showers is in the air. Mary tells me they should be put in the ground on Good Friday to...