garden

Catching up…

Well it seems it’s been a busy couple of weeks since I last wrote a post. Thankfully, part of the reason for that has been some lovely weather – when the sun’s shining I’m not inclined to stay in the house and stare at a computer screen, I want to get outside and garden!

Some updates on what’s happening out there:

Sad news first – the blackbird nest which was in the ivy on the back wall has failed. I went out one morning about a week ago to discover it was on the ground. I don’t know what happened, perhaps it simply collapsed, or perhaps a fox or bigger bird came along and attacked. I investigated briefly using a stick (it was hard to reach!) and couldn’t see any eggs but it was surprisingly solid to try to turn over. Here’s a photo of Mrs Blackbird which I took literally the day before the nest came down…

I felt quite sad for the pair – they spent so long building the nest and she’d been sitting in it for a few days before it failed. However, it seems that this is common with blackbirds as their nests are so open and therefore vulnerable to predators and the elements. The good news is that I think they are now building another nest inside a large conifer nearby. Will it be third time lucky? We’ll have to wait and see.

I have been watering like mad over the past few days. The sunny and warm weather means the veg beds have been looking parched and the seedlings (cosmos, marigolds and zinnia) which are now outside in the growhouse need a drink almost twice a day! They’re getting quite large now and I’m hoping to start planting them out in the next few days.

The raised beds are looking good – every one now has a little row or sprig of green appearing, with the peas/carrots/lettuce bed looking the most healthy of all. I have high hopes for the peas, especially after they did so poorly last year. The potatoes are now all sprouting, after my worry that they were nowhere to be seen, and even the little leeks are popping up…

…I noticed these yesterday morning and could have sworn they were about a centimetre bigger by the evening after a day of sunshine and a liberal hosing!

I’m also making a fairly sizeable change in the front garden; I’ve removed a large ceonothus and another unidentified shrub which have been taking over a large section close to the driveway. I plan to extend the rose bed and perhaps also use the space for bedding and dahlias. It was a bit of a gamble as they took up quite a lot of room, but the space looks nice and clear now and is another corner to play with, so I’m happy. Sorry no before/after photos because I forgot to take them!

Lastly, a chicken update: we are now getting three eggs a day, as Iona has joined her two friends and begun laying – hurrah! She’s also developing her comb and her voice and likes a good cluck when you go into the run or if she thinks something’s amiss. Perhaps the quietest hen will turn out to be the noisiest?!

New layer Iona gets extra cuddles from Biggest Daughter

Nesting

Spotted this afternoon…Mrs Blackbird sitting in the large nest she and Mr Blackbird have built in the ivy wall in the back garden, nicely hidden behind a large conifer.

I noticed the nest a few days ago but it was only today I spied one of them actually in it. And she spied me spying on her – she doesn’t look very happy about it does she?!

Too many seedlings?

…or is there no such thing?!

I am busy trying to pot up some of the seedlings which are getting taller by the day, including about two dozen French Marigolds.

Marigold seedlings – plus a small tomato plant dontated by a friend!

I don’t really know how many seeds you’re ‘supposed’ to sow but I seem to have a lot of marigolds here. I don’t think they’ll go to waste – I have plenty bedding space for them, or could give a few to family and friends so I’m just growing them all on! I also have a few cosmos and zinnia which need pricked out into bigger pots, but there aren’t as many of these and I kept back some of the seeds so that I could also sow direct into the ground. There are half a dozen sweet pea seedlings too but I’m holding off on planting them out for another week or so when there’s less risk of frost.

In other news today I have managed to clear the side patio, which I’m preparing to transform into an area for pots. I’ve lifted and potted the herbs which were worth keeping and chucked the ones which were past their best. Now all I have to do is put down a weed-suppressing membrane, lay some decorative stones on top and begin a collection of pots for this area. This should make the area fairly easy to maintain, and I’ll be able to chop and change pots depending on mood/season/availability of plants. There’s also a recently planted rambling rose (New Dawn) close to the wall, which I hope will do what it’s supposed to and ramble all over the place, covering up some of the rather drab grey brickwork.

Looking bare…but not for too long

Herbs potted up and looking tidy

As well as this I’ve planted two new climbers – a honeysuckle for the corner patio and a passiflora which has gone into a large blue planter with some climbing support. I love a climber and these two I picked up at Asda for just £2 each.

Passiflora in its new home. Please also note in the background the gorgeous red rhodedendron which is just emerging and is one of the stars of the back garden!

My husband made himself useful in the garden today, and helped me get rid of a large, unidentified, spiky shrub which I have proclaimed extinct. He’s cleared it from the back border, along with an old azalea, opening up this area for some colour. Having put in the Lidl primroses, I realised this corner has the potential to be much more interesting so I’d like to get a few perennials to brighten up the area and make it a bit more pleasing to look at, especially as it’s the main area of view from one of the kitchen windows.

Primroses and a couple of heuchera providing a small burst of colour, but there’s potential for so much more!

So there we have it, today I spent a couple of hours here and there in the garden pottering on a handful of minor jobs but it was still very useful and enjoyable. As I was re-potting herbs and clearing old plants I realised how even the preparation work in the garden can be satisfying – it’s like you’re moving around the pieces of the puzzle so that you can figure out the best fit and make the overall picture look really good!

My jigsaw might have to go on hold for the next few days though as the weather is due to take a turn for the worse. I have set a reminder on my phone to remember to bring in the tender plants I’m hardening off (fuschias and geraniums) as the nights are due to be very cold. Such is the way of Spring I suppose – a few bonnie days can quickly be followed by Winter’s last hurrah…

Mr Smith

As promised in my previous post, just a few hours ago, I grabbed the opportunity to get out into the garden and I’m pleased to say it was a productive afternoon and evening.

I had to dodge a few showers but I managed to plant out pea seedlings, as well as sowing new pea seeds. I also sowed early carrots, lettuce and rocket under a fleece mini-tunnel (the only one of two which survived the recent high winds). In the same bed there was one square space remaining so I constructed a makeshift obelisk from some branches foraged from the woods just behind us (fallen, not cut!) and sowed a few remaining sweet pea seeds beneath it, with the help of my smallest daughter, who loves to pick the flowers.

Pea seedlings

AND just before the light fell, I also filled in some space at the top of the potato bed with a few broccoli seeds – a bit of an experiment as I haven’t grown it before and, to be honest, we don’t eat much broccoli. I reckon whether it’s successful or not, the chickens will benefit from these plants the most!

Phew – I got quite a lot done with the bit of time I had and am feeling quite satisfied that I’ve got a few seeds and seedlings into the earth today.

A word about my companion when I am sowing or growing vegetables – Mr Smith. After we moved in here and I acquired the raised beds in the Secret Garden, my Dad bestowed upon me his copy of ‘Mr Smith’s Vegetable Garden’.

Mr Smith’s Vegetable Garden

Look! It cost the princely sum of 60 pence

My Dad has been using this book since he began growing his own vegetables many years ago and swears by it as a very simple, straightforward guide to how to grow most veggies in your garden or allotment. For each vegetable, Mr Smith lists the basic guidelines for How to Grow, possible Pests and Diseases and Storage and Kitchen Hints, plus a few simple line drawings for a bit of illustration. I have just checked the front cover and the book was first published in 1976 (as well as a reprint in 1977 – the year I was born!) and the advice and guidance in it is as relevant now as it was then. The book looks old-fashioned, but then I have a weak spot for ‘vintage’ gardening books – something I will definitely share in a future post…

Clearly Dad thought I could find the book as useful as he did as a reference point – and I do. Every year at this time I know I will bring out the book to check guidance for sowing my veg. I don’t know who Mr Smith was – the Monty Don of his day perhaps – but he’s an excellent guide and adviser when it comes to growing your own vegetables.

Introducing…

Minnie (Minerva)

Iona (or Iona McFart)

and Big Boo (aka Polly, short for Pollos Hermanos)

I realise that’s quite a heady mix of monikers but that’s what happens when you let your kids get involved in the naming process, while also wanting to have your own input! We’ve ended up with a selection inspired by Harry Potter, Spanish words, Breaking Bad, Orange is the New Black and the brain of a 6 year old!

Still, a week on and we’re getting used to them now – the names as well as the hens. They chook about quite happily in their run which we’ve now covered with woodchips very helpfully supplied by a tree surgeon friend. We’re giving them treats every day to find out what they like to eat – so far mealworms, cheese and dandelions are proving a bit hit. My eldest daughter is visiting them several times a day to feed them treats or pick them up – she’s quite besotted with her new feathery chums! The smaller daughter likes them too and enjoys showing them off to her friends, but isn’t so keen on raking poo. They both like collecting the daily egg we’ve been getting though, and my husband is definitely enjoying eating them.

Polly/Big Boo is the sole provider of eggs so far, and is also the Queen Bee. I think the pecking order has been established and it seems she’s the one in charge, followed by Iona and then Minnie, who seems to be the most nervous of them all and sometimes patrols the run at dusk clucking menacingly at the imaginary threats beyond the fence, before taking herself to bed with the others when it gets dark. Iona seems the most chilled out and doesn’t seem to mind being stroked or picked up. They have all already got into the habit of running over at the first sight of a human, but I am under no illusions – they clearly just want food!

It’s Easter holidays for us at the moment, which is one reason why we’ve gone for it with getting the chickens just now, but what with settling in our new friends and doing general family stuff, I’m not getting much time in the garden at the moment. Which is the reason I’m about to cut off this post and head straight out right now – a rare window of opportunity presents itself, so I am going to grab it with both hands!

Until I return, here are some pics of our new ladies for you to enjoy!

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They’re here!

Just a quick one before bedtime – but I had to share today’s excitement…

Three hens, happily scratching away in their new home in our back garden!

I am super excited and also nervous about their first night – please let them still be there in the morning?!

Nesting & a New Visitor

Happy Easter! I hope your Easter weekend was filled with happy and peaceful times, as well as chocolate eggs 🙂

I have eggs of another kind on my mind at the moment, because for the past couple of weeks I have spotted a blackbird making a nest in our garden. She’s borrowing the top of a robin nesting box which we put up a couple of springs ago, not long after we moved in here. Robins have so far never used it, but apparently it makes the base of a very good, if somewhat messy, blackbird nest! I haven’t seen her there for a few days, and was beginning to think they’d given up on it, but this morning the female was back with a beakful of dry grass and old leaves and disappeared into the hole in the ivy, adding a bit more to her presumably cosy little structure. I have also discovered it’s VERY difficult to take a photo of her doing this! But here’s a pic of her tail disappearing into the undergrowth…

There must be all sorts of materials in there – you can clearly see a large piece of lacecap hydrangea and a bit of a fir branch hanging out of the nest. I do wonder if she’s nearly finished it – apparently blackbirds take around two weeks to build a nest. It’s usually made of grass, straw, twigs and other plant material (clearly!) and they may use it to raise two or three broods.

The site is just opposite one of our kitchen windows, and pretty close to the back door of the house. I put the nest box there purposefully as I thought if it ever gets used we’ll have a great view of what’s going on – but I’m hoping they don’t abandon it at any point because of us coming and going nearby. I’m really very excited about this nest! A little blackbird family could be living, literally, right on our doorstep. I’m looking forward to watching their progress.

These could be the pair in question – but it’s hard to tell because there are quite a number of blackbirds present in our garden at the moment. Sometimes it’s like Blackbird Wars out there as territorial males chase each other about!

We have also had a new visitor lately – a jackdaw, which comes down and nicks scraps from the tall bird table, occasionally visiting the feeders. It’s only recently when I saw this one that I noticed what striking eyes they have – so pale against the dark feathers. They’re really quite handsome birds. Here’s our new pal…

It’s not the best shot of him – I’ll keep trying!

Project Hen is moving forward…!

We have a coop! An Eglu Go to be precise, and I am so excited.

My head is full of hens at the moment, as I’m working out where to put them, when to feed them, how to make this work for our family life. My girls are also excited about the prospect of some feathered friends and even my husband, who was somewhat dubious to begin with, seems to be getting on board and is keen to come and choose our chickens.

Hopefully we’ll bring some home next week during the Easter holidays, but before then we’ve got to figure out how to make the coop and run fit into the area I have marked out for it. More pics and details to follow after the weekend I think, when I hope to have the Eglu in place and ready to accept its new inhabitants!

Scarifying!

Scarifying has been the main aim of today. Recently I was enjoying a cup of coffee in the garden and surveying the back lawn, when I realised that it was looking decidedly mossy – in fact it was starting to take over. The blades of grass were poking up sporadically between large patches of spongy moss, and it was starting to look like 70/30 in favour of the moss – maybe more in places!

So a plan of action was formed. The Head Gardener (aka My Dad) appeared today with an electric scarifier and we set to work trying to hoik up a large amount of moss and thatch and non-grass from the grass. He did the scarifying, I did the raking and scooping. We filled wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow until his trailer was full of a giant pile of moss, ready for tipping at the local recycling centre. It seemed like a big job but actually took less than an hour – and was SO satisfying. Removing all the mossy stuff has left the grass looking a bit scruffy and muddy in places but I’m assured by the aforementioned Head Gardener that it should come back looking much better, although we may need to repeat the procedure annually, if not twice a year.

One of many, many wheelbarrows full of moss

He’s very good at reminding me that gardeners must play the long game. We can’t always get results straight away – in fact, we hardly ever do! It takes time for seeds to germinate, for buds to form and flowers to bloom. If we prune a shrub, it will take time for it to re-grow into a more pleasing shape; some trees will take years and years to grow – we have a Monkey Puzzle (Araucaria araucana) in the front garden which will take so long to reach a significant height that we will probably be long gone by the time it does so! And he likes to remind me, Instant-Gratification Girl, that I must be patient when it comes to my garden. I hope to enjoy it for many years, so a quick transformation is not necessary and virtually impossible, so I must take my time, plan carefully and be persistent with things like the grass and the Secret Garden/Allotment. Grass must be looked after, soil must be enriched and worked – the results will show themselves in time, and will be worth the effort.

In Bargain Shopping News, I was at Lidl today and picked up some more cut-price plants: two geraniums (99p each), four primroses (£1.89 each, 12 box (£1.99 for six) and a jasmine (£4.69).

The primroses are gorgeous – I chose two cream/white plants and two in pinky-purple shades. I will probably put these in pots but to be honest I’ve fallen so suddenly and completely for these sturdy little flowers with their vivid colours that it will be difficult to resist going back for more for the flower beds…

Primula

Not a gardening post

This weekend was unfortunately spent not gardening, so this is a ‘not gardening’ blog post. I was Not Gardening for various reasons:

The weather was poor, which was actually a good thing because…
I had to paint my study, and keep getting distracted by the good weather and the garden when really I need to Get On With It. My study is my little refuge – for reading, writing, blogging and occasional staring at the garden while planning the next job…!
It was quite a busy weekend with a grown-up party, a kids party and a visit to my parents to take into account, as well as a hairdresser’s appointment to keep.

However, even when I’m Not Gardening, I’ve found it’s difficult to shake the gardening habit. When I was in town for the hairdresser appointment I popped into a few shops and discovered that my eye is now drawn to garden-themed clothing. The evidence…

I love roses so much apparently I want to wear them

I’ve also been inspired by a couple of books which will hopefully help with my garden plans – I’ve been reading Chicken Coops for the Soul, which I stumbled upon at the library when I was looking for something completely different. It’s a useful insight into the realities of chicken-keeping and is helping me to get an idea what it might actually be like, if/when I take the plunge. So far, it’s not putting me off!

I have also recently received this book which I ordered from a second-hand online shop…

…and I can’t wait to get stuck in. Although I haven’t read it yet, it’s one of the inspirations for this blog – Monty kept a diary, written and photographic, of everything they did when they moved to Ivington and this book is the result. Now. I KNOW I am nowhere on the scale of the mighty Mr Don, but we do plan to be in this house for a long time, so I’d like to think that a record of the development of the garden would be a great thing to look back on in years to come. And if at that point I’m a big famous gardening expert *ahem* , a publishing deal will certainly be very welcome…so I’m getting started early!

Look at this face, how could you not trust the advice he gives…

Don’t even get me started on his new puppy.

So, as I said, it’s been a weekend of No Gardening. Followed by today – the Springiest of Spring days and, Sods Law, I’ve had to go to work, in a windowless office, with zero plants or soil or anything. It is genuinely frustrating, to have to spend such a beautiful day indoors, but when I start to get worked up about it I remind myself that I am very lucky to have a good, flexible, part-time job, and that my three days of work allow me to have two days of non-work and the means to own the house and garden that we do. So the next time I get annoyed about it, I will take a breath, count my blessings and walk through the office door, dressed in one of my lovely new garden-themed shirts…

A whole day in the garden

A WHOLE DAY. This almost never happens, thanks to a combination of family responsibilities, weather, a job and various other demands which crop up on a daily or weekly basis. But I have a very rare week off work, promised since last year, and it’s allowed me the luxury of time to write, garden, walk and go to yoga classes whenever I please. So yesterday, I spent all my time outside and I loved it. Following the walk I blogged about in my last post, I wrapped up (it’s still a bit chilly!) and went straight outside, armed with a gardening to-do list.

Focusing on the main garden, I dug, planted, moved shrubs, mulched and snipped myself into a state of bliss. There were two areas I was aiming to clear – the side patio bed and a section of the back border which is where I want the chicken coop (yep, I’m still planning this!) and run to go.

The side bed has been a bit of a conundrum since we moved in. It’s got three thriving shrubs in it already – a bamboo, a camellia and a lovely variegated myrtle bush. At one end I’ve planted some herbs as it’s close to the back door, and easy access from the kitchen when I need some for cooking. But the middle section is quite shallow and tough to dig, with lots of old roots from a huge ivy, most of which has now been cleared to make way for a gas pipe to be fixed along the wall (don’t ask, it’s a long and boring story…). Towards the end of last summer I planted some perennials which I’d bought – geums, lavender and a couple of foxgloves – but this was largely because I couldn’t really think of anything else to do with the bed. They’ve done very little since then of course, so I’ve now lifted them; the lavenders are going into the opposite end of the garden, the corner patio where we have a table and chairs, and where I’m growing a series of climbers to try and hide some of the grey breeze block wall behind. The lavenders should do a good job of brightening up the areas below the clematis, honeysuckle and roses which are already there.

The geums have now gone in below a twisted hazel which is also next to the back door, again a little bit of interest for the lower level of this small, rocky bed.

The plan now for the side patio is to put down a membrane, some decorative stones and to plant up lots of pots and place around the existing shrubs. That way, I won’t have to dig into the tough soil, I can plant a variety of containers and can chop and change the pots whenever I like. So, I’ve managed to clear the space ready for this, and now it looks like this…

I’ve also ordered a rambler from Peter Beales roses, which I’ll grow at the back and along the wall to try and hide some of the grey-ness. It’s a pale pink flower, and should complement the vivid green and red-pink of the camellia, which flowered beautifully last year.

I had to move a couple of things out of the back border too, so that I could mark out the approximate space I’ll need for the coop/run I’m hoping for. I moved a young cherry into the front garden, and removed a hydrangea completely. I love hydrangea – I don’t mind that they’re a bit old-fashioned, I just love their huge showy flowers – but this one was quite old and woody, plus I’d taken cuttings from it in the autumn so it will live on. There’s a rhodedendron which might also need moved out of the way but it’s just about to flower so I’ve left it for now.

This is how the space looks now…

In the foreground you might also be able to make out a small magnolia which was also planted yesterday – another bargain from Lidl!

So I’m quite pleased with the preparations I’ve made in these two key areas of the garden. Looking out and seeing the clear spaces gives me a sense of anticipation – I’m ready for the next stage!

And now for a close-up! A selection of photos caputuring what’s going on in the garden just now…

The rhodedendron which is getting ready to flower

Salix – a new pussy willow for the front border

The witch hazel is still going strong

Yellow

I have spent ALL DAY outside today, and it’s been wonderful. Yellow has been a theme running through…

It was bright and only a wee bit cold so I headed out straight after the school run on my new favourite walking route, which goes through fields, past some interesting houses and into the woods, with some cracking views both to the north and south. The gorse is already showing a generous sprinkling of yellow flowers in places here.

There was a plethora of bird life on offer too – blue tits, great tits, some more flirty chaffinches and a few flocks of geese crossing overhead, presumably ready to leave their winter holidays in the UK behind and head back to their breeding grounds for the spring. However ‘tweet of the day’ was the yellowhammer. I didn’t actually clap eyes on one, but a number of them made their presence felt as I made my way along a path through Christmas tree fields – they were telling me over and over about a ‘little bit of bread and no cheese’ – their distinctive song which, for me, is the sound of country fields and hedgerows, the bird’s typical habitat.

This was not the first yellow bird I’ve noticed today, as the siskins on my bird feeder caught my eye this morning. These bold little visitors have been coming to the garden for several weeks now. The first time I saw one, I thought it was a yellowhammer, but consequently realised it was a smaller, but similar, siskin. They’re not often seen in gardens, but are driven into them when the weather is wet and the cones which they usually feed from are closed up.

They started off sharing the nyger seed with the goldfinches and now seem to have taken over this particular feeder, with four of them squabbling over the feeder at breakfast time this morning. They’re not shy either – quite often they stay on the feeder when I approach it, only wheeling off at the last minute when I get a little too close for comfort. With the cold, wet winter finally losing its grip on us, I wonder how much longer I’ll see these little flashes of yellow sparking in the back corner of the garden.

Siskin and Goldfinch share the nyger seeds

Mild March?

It’s March!

And when I walked out of the door this morning it was much milder than I expected – about 6 or 7 degrees (which for my corner of the earth IS mild at this time of year!), prompting me to break out my New Spring Coat, which is lighter and brighter and it made me happy to wear it for the first time. And then I got this…

…so apparently winter is not done with us quite yet!

On the topic of frosty/mild mornings, a note about hellebores. If you walk out on a frosty morning and find your hellebores looking rather floppy – don’t panic. On very cold days, the stalks will bend low, flowers touching the ground, and they’ll look a bit sad.

sad hellebores 😦

happy hellebores 🙂

But when the temperatures rise again, they’ll perk back up and resume the usual position. When I first witnessed this, I was a bit alarmed and worried I’d somehow damaged them, even though apart from removing old black-spotted leaves I had pretty much left them to their own devices since last year. Thankfully this is normal hellebore behaviour and, being very hardy plants, they should continue to grow quite happily through the rest of the frosts, right through to sunny spring.

So although I might suffer with tomorrow’s predicted severe temperature dip (the New Spring Coat will go back into the wardrobe for now), at least I know my hellebores will not!

Long-tailed tits

The long-tailed tits are back! These gorgeous little birds first appeared on my garden feeders last year around the same time. They came back periodically for a couple of weeks and then left again – it looks like they’ll be doing the same this year. No doubt the very cold weather we have just now is driving them back to my garden looking for some high-energy snacks to warm up their tiny bodies.

They come in a small flock, at least three of them, sometimes five or six, clamouring for a space on the nut feeder, those long tail feathers poking out in all directions as they manoeuvre for the best spot. I love their round little bodies and pinky feathers, their punky head stripes, and of course the long tails – slightly longer than the rest of their body in fact – which make them rather characterful and give the impression of a much bigger bird than they really are. These pinky, punky little friends can come and visit anytime.

To chook, or not to chook…?

I have hens on the brain at the moment.

I am very seriously considering some for the back garden!

This has been an idea at the back of my mind since we moved into the house, as the garden is such a good size, there’s plenty of room for a small coop and three or four chickens. And although I’ve been resisting the thought (just a fad! too dirty! you’ll get fed up!) I keep coming back to it again and again, lurking on chicken keeping forums, searching Gumtree for second-hand coops… I can’t seem to shake the idea and am becoming more and more sure that it’s something I’d like to try and think I’d enjoy.

I’m still weighing up the pros and cons – with any new venture I really do like to wrap my brain around it and try to imagine what doing that thing will be like, how it will affect my daily life, routines, the rest of the family etc. Here’s the list:

Pros:

Eggs! Lots of them, I hope! I’d give any excess to family and friends – or maybe have an honesty box at the front of the house.
Company in the garden – I’d like to let them free-range sometimes, and like the thought of them pecking about (and hopefully eating all the slugs!) while I’m pottering about.
Pets – we don’t have any (apart from 5 guppies!) and I like the idea of caring for an animal and that it would (hopefully) enhance our family life and engage the kids with other living creatures. The girls seem keen – they say they’d help out and I’d like to think they’d enjoy feeding the birds, handling them etc, even if they would almost certainly be unwilling to clean up bird poo!
The aforementioned poo is good fertiliser – goes on the compost heap and enriches the garden at a later date. So, although poo is really a ‘con’, it’s also a ‘pro’.

Cons:

The free-ranging might mean damage to the garden – and would definitely mean poo on the grass, which would need to be removed before the girls would play outside. (This could possibly be limited by fencing off a free-range area)
The poo (see above!)
Rats – I fear the idea of encouraging these into the garden, however I’m aware there are ways to prevent them and obviously there are ways to get rid of them.
Time commitment – this seems fairly minimal, compared to a dog for example, but I would need to spend time feeding and cleaning them, and perhaps be up and about to let them out fairly early in the mornings, especially in the summer months. My ‘spare’ time is already precious – do I want to give up a little more of it? Am I prepared to tweak my daily routine to care properly for these birds?

As you can see, I’m putting a lot of thought into it – too much, perhaps! But I need to be sure before I take the plunge. At the moment I’m keen to proceed, and keep waiting to find out something which would put me off, but it hasn’t happened yet. So, I’m back on Gumtree looking out for the elusive bargain starter chicken coop…I’ll keep you posted!

Julianne Robertson

writer | communications consultant | garden media specialist