I would say we have a wildlife garden rather than a flower garden.....Mice and Squirrels dug up the Crocuses and Grape Hyacinths......Rabbits bit all the heads off my Tulips and spat them on the ground.....Blackbirds scattered mulch everywhere....Moles made hills and holes in the lawn....and Sparrows pecked the heads off my Primroses....not to mention the slugs and snails. But how we love them all ! W e don't have all that many flowers though !
I've got a similar problem. I have watched the blackbirds do it, not squirrels, but in my case all the blue lobelia bedding plants are sought out and then pulled from the bed and dumped on the grass or pathway. No other plant is touched. These are replanted when seen and within 24 hours are out again. I am going to lose in the region of 60 plants. Sadly I'm not finding this an "ah is that nice" situation.
I also have the dreaded 'blackbird problem'. I am sick and tired of going outside to re-arrange my bark chips, after the blackbirds seem to be enjoying a competition to see which one of them can sling it the furthest. Strangely, my neighbour next door has bright orange bark chips in his borders and the blackbirds never touch those! There's never a chip out of place. I like gardens to look as natural as possible and chose 'normal' chips, rather than radio active orange ones, but perhaps my neighbour knew what he was doing when he bought his! Lesson learned - don't put bark chips in your borders!
I'd pay to have more blackbirds in the garden. They're not as forthcoming as I'd like, despite having plenty of suitable areas for them - especially a nice border to rummage in - with a bark mulch! At a previous garden, they used to make me laugh, hoiking the bark out to find all sorts of tasty morsels and snaffling the berries from the pyracantha near the front door
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
We have a very small courtyard & mulching is important as the Australian climate is hot & drought prone. The blackbirds used to decimate our courtyard space with their digging habits at least twice a day making the space dirty & unusable. We used black PVC coated chicken wire to cover all exposed soil bed areas, it's hardly noticeable on top of dark brown/black mulch. The birds are very persistent and moved to digging in the larger potted plants; we followed their destruction & chicken wired everything they moved to. Eventually they gave up & we can enjoy our clean tidy courtyard again. We still hear them but from a far in the neighbors garden now
How sad. I'd rather have a messy plot and loads of blackies any day.
Fortunately there's loads just now so they're beginning to find their way around my garden. Putting loads of suet treats through the borders is now paying off. 'Mrs' was eating all the berries on a lonicera earlier. Delightful
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I seem to have several 'pairs' visiting regularly Hosta. I've been here less than three years and hardly saw a blackbird till last winter. They're all puffed up today because of the hard frost, but they're getting loads to eat
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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I would say we have a wildlife garden rather than a flower garden.....Mice and Squirrels dug up the Crocuses and Grape Hyacinths......Rabbits bit all the heads off my Tulips and spat them on the ground.....Blackbirds scattered mulch everywhere....Moles made hills and holes in the lawn....and Sparrows pecked the heads off my Primroses....not to mention the slugs and snails. But how we love them all ! W e don't have all that many flowers though !
Annoying as it is I'd take it as a compliment. The blackbirds have steadily become more interested as we've improved our soil.
I've got a similar problem. I have watched the blackbirds do it, not squirrels, but in my case all the blue lobelia bedding plants are sought out and then pulled from the bed and dumped on the grass or pathway. No other plant is touched. These are replanted when seen and within 24 hours are out again. I am going to lose in the region of 60 plants. Sadly I'm not finding this an "ah is that nice" situation.
I also have the dreaded 'blackbird problem'. I am sick and tired of going outside to re-arrange my bark chips, after the blackbirds seem to be enjoying a competition to see which one of them can sling it the furthest. Strangely, my neighbour next door has bright orange bark chips in his borders and the blackbirds never touch those! There's never a chip out of place. I like gardens to look as natural as possible and chose 'normal' chips, rather than radio active orange ones, but perhaps my neighbour knew what he was doing when he bought his! Lesson learned - don't put bark chips in your borders!
I'd pay to have more blackbirds in the garden. They're not as forthcoming as I'd like, despite having plenty of suitable areas for them - especially a nice border to rummage in - with a bark mulch! At a previous garden, they used to make me laugh, hoiking the bark out to find all sorts of tasty morsels and snaffling the berries from the pyracantha near the front door
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
We have a very small courtyard & mulching is important as the Australian climate is hot & drought prone. The blackbirds used to decimate our courtyard space with their digging habits at least twice a day making the space dirty & unusable. We used black PVC coated chicken wire to cover all exposed soil bed areas, it's hardly noticeable on top of dark brown/black mulch. The birds are very persistent and moved to digging in the larger potted plants; we followed their destruction & chicken wired everything they moved to. Eventually they gave up & we can enjoy our clean tidy courtyard again. We still hear them but from a far in the neighbors garden now
How sad. I'd rather have a messy plot and loads of blackies any day.
Fortunately there's loads just now so they're beginning to find their way around my garden. Putting loads of suet treats through the borders is now paying off. 'Mrs' was eating all the berries on a lonicera earlier. Delightful
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I'm with you Fairygirl.
When we moved here 4 years ago I sprinkled suet treat about and the blackbirds searched them out and the slugs, / snail eggs and the adults .
I'd not be without them and happily rake the mulch back onto the beds.
I seem to have several 'pairs' visiting regularly Hosta. I've been here less than three years and hardly saw a blackbird till last winter. They're all puffed up today because of the hard frost, but they're getting loads to eat
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I'll stick with this
I don't want a miserable, neat garden
In the sticks near Peterborough