When wine bottles always had corks they were great. Less so these days. Screw tops mean you do not have to search out the corkscrew = + But having to find a new source of cane topper = -
Pre Covid I tended to buy the cane toppers from the supermarket, end of season cheaply. (Along with snap on hose end connectors). Buying in bulk online might be better. I kind of have enough at the moment for the amount I use and re-use.
A piece of tape around one or a tripod might be a seasonal help where one removes canes end of.
Having to wear flippin' glasses when ones eyesight deteriorates has its ( unnatractive) advantages.
I use cheap little pottery knickknacks - they generally have a hole in the bottom for the cane. I was decluttering my ornaments one day and decided some of them would be much more useful in the garden. Now I actively look for garden-appropriate ones in charity shops, like this mushroom
Thank you everyone for your suggestions, most imaginative! I too wear glasses but confess they are on one minute and off the next! I am very cautious ever since I got the tip of a Cordyline in my eye! I do wear safety goggles also sometimes.
I find it doesn't really matter what I put in the ground or on cane tops. Within a few days the birds, foxes, badgers, cats and dogs have redistributed them. I still try to mark things but with diminishing expectations.
I have been gradually accumulating the metal ornamental plant stakes which are made to look like flowers - usually echinacea, daisy like flowers. They’re aren’t cheap so they are a regular on my birthday and Christmas lists. They seem to last well and look attractive amongst the real plants and when left in the garden over winter.
But the discussion is useful as I do still use some small bean sticks for support and marking. I don’t usually worry about them, I’m another one who wears glasses but we will be giving our granddaughter once a week (once we’ve had our jabs). They will be just the right (wrong!) height for accidents so this discussion has reminded me that I need to think about toppers.
@Rubytoo@Helios I have a bag full of corks 😳 but can I ask how you fastened them onto the canes?
If anyone else wants to build up their cork collection for purely gardening health and safety reasons of course- they are still more common with french wines and Prosecco/cava are good sources
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
I use large, half-drilled wooden balls as cane toppers. They look okay
and stay in place very well, especially if they have a small bit of
Blu-Tack stuffed in the hole. They last for years and take on a certain greyish patina.
They look good @Ceres, may I ask where you got them from please? I've also tried glued imitation sea shells onto the tops of some metal spiral stakes I bought. Some came with rubber tips but some didn't (probably the cheaper ones).
@Butterfly66 I manage to make a hole in the bottoms of the corks with any implement I can find in the shed that looks as though it might do the job. A supply of plasters also comes in handy.
Thanks @Helios I will make sure I have plasters at the ready 🙄
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
Posts
Less so these days.
Screw tops mean you do not have to search out the corkscrew = +
But having to find a new source of cane topper = -
Pre Covid I tended to buy the cane toppers from the supermarket, end of season cheaply. (Along with snap on hose end connectors).
Buying in bulk online might be better.
I kind of have enough at the moment for the amount I use and re-use.
A piece of tape around one or a tripod might be a seasonal help where one removes canes end of.
Having to wear flippin' glasses when ones eyesight deteriorates has its ( unnatractive) advantages.
@Rubytoo @Helios I have a bag full of corks 😳 but can I ask how you fastened them onto the canes?
If anyone else wants to build up their cork collection for purely gardening health and safety reasons of course- they are still more common with french wines and Prosecco/cava are good sources
East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
I've also tried glued imitation sea shells onto the tops of some metal spiral stakes I bought. Some came with rubber tips but some didn't (probably the cheaper ones).
East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham