Sunday 10 February 2008

Look what I've got in the shed.


Anything interesting in yours? I was cutting some unwanted plants back in late autumn and noticed this lovely specimen in the centre of the stem. If you enlarge photo you will see it more easily. I am not an expert but I would think anytime now with the weather warming up, a cabbage white may emerge. When I clear my garden of debris I always check to see if anything is living amonst it, and put it in a place that hopefully it will survive. I never kill any living creature, of any shape or form in my garden, I leave nature to do her job. I have been gardening organically for years and when you first start it is scary because you lose quite a lot of plants. Once nature balances itself in your space, I find that I get a bit of damage but nothing to much to worry about. How about you?Quote: Gardens are not made by sitting in the shade. Rudyard Kipling.

8 comments:

Mark said...

Hi Cheryl,
I'm with you on the wildlife gardening,as I only have a small garden I am gradually taking over other areas. One of these is at my signal box were I work. For the past 6 years I have been clearing areas and planting them up with native wildflowers and spare garden flowers.
I have several bird boxes, log piles and a pond all on the land next to the track.
It also has another benefit in that I don't have to travel far for some wildlife images.

Look forward to seeing what pops out of the crysallis.

Cheers Mark

Cheryl said...

Hi Mark
I have looked at your wildlife area at the signal box. It is beautiful, and I can see that we are like minded in many ways. Before I moved here I had a tiny little garden but because of the way I garden it was teaming with birds and insects....I lived there for 26 years and I often wonder what happened to the garden. It has been a joy having so much space here...the garden was very sad when we moved in...with no help from anyone else I am proud of what I have achieved...although my aching body complains more than it used to.
Must tell you the other day I thought "marks lays down to take fab shots of plants"
...so I did...I wish you could have seen me trying to get up!
Thanks for visiting and making my blog come to life.

beckie said...

Cheryl,
I commend you and the others who garden organically! I know it is harder and takes at the least a lot more planning. But(could you tell there was a but coming:)) You obviously don't have Japanese beetles where you live! They destroy so much and if left alone, I would not have a garden. I do use red hot sauce as a deterrent, but have ocassionally resorted to an environmentally approved spray. I am sorry...I hate the little buggers! I do try to teach my grand girls the value of life-any life though and we spend many hours looking at the different creature(and bugs)God has made.
Enjoyed your post!

Cheryl said...

Hi Beckie
Glad you popped by again......I do have vine weevils in the garden and they are nightmare. I use nematodes to get rid of them,although it does not do the job completely, it certainly helps. As I have said many times in my blog, its do or die here!!!
You sound to me as if you are doing a good job especially teaching your grandchildren, keep up the good work. Hows the blog going?

Mary said...

Cheryl, obviously, you are doing a good job with organic gardens. I'm with you on the idea. I've been in my house for only two years and trying desperately to plant native. Unfortunately, we are in the worst drought of the century with water restrictions. Even the natives are dying. I'll visit here often for inspiration!

I need to dip into your archives and meet your dogs :o)

Cheryl said...

Tough one Mary......We had a drought orders for two years in this area. Also hosepipe ban for the 2nd year. I did save my garden...its an acre no easy task. I installed seven huge water butts so when we did get the odd spell of rain I had some in my butts. Theother thing I found was plenty of manure and shredded paper as a mulch, doesn't look pretty till the worms pull it down, but it seems to have done the trick. Apparently they do this in India and they do very well with their planting. Don't mulch on dry soil though (I expect you know that)
If you need any help with drought tolerant plants that are wildlife friendly, don't hesitate to ask. I will help you if I can.
Happy gardening!

A wildlife gardener said...

If you highlight the following link, Cheryl, and paste it in a new window, you can read about the cabbage whites we had one year...

http://ourlittlecornerofparadise.blogspot.com/2007/02/summer-snowflakes.html

Cheryl said...

Thank you wildlife gardener, you are very kind.