LE JARDIN WENDY

January / February 2011

Sadly, the Birdie above is not in Wendy's pool. Though, the pool will eventually be this exotic come Global Warming.

Blinkin Moorhen's too shy to be photographed.

THE YEAR BEGINS FOR WENDY WITH A NERVOUS BIRDIE

Not an awful lot to report really this month.

The Moorhen who adopted us in the pre-Christmas snow is still here but he seems to be a tad mad. Maybe that's why he likes us so much!

The pond that is still work in progress holds approximately 7,000 gallons. And what does our little Moorhen like to do??? He sits in the birdbath, of course.

We really can’t work out why but neither of us are complaining as the bird book says that they love pond plants (no mention of fish). So either way, the plants or fish might well ‘get it’ if he decides his bottom can be parked elsewhere and in more comfort.

He has also decided that he can now not only get his head through the ground feeder cage, but also one shoulder and leg.(are you about to burst into song yet? One head, one shoulder, one leg ... keep moving!!). It means that he can reach far more food.

I’m convinced that we are going to come home from work one day and find him well and truly wedged in the cover.

Trevor and I also want to burst into the Famous Grouse music from the advert as that it just how he walks, he’s terribly nervous, hence the reason that photos are poor quality. Can’t get Trevor to clean the windows before we do a photo shoot!

However, we can at least move about the kitchen now without him having a heart attack. That's the nervous Moorhen and not Trefor

TWO'S COMPANY AND THREE'S A PARTY

We’ve also now got some Siskins that I’ve not seen since we moved here.

We have millions of Gold Finches who seem to be the Victor Meldrews of the bird world, and also plenty of Green Finches.

These new arrivals seem to keep coming in their three’s, so not sure how many there are.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG

February 11th sees the First Daffodil in our garden, its only a tiny little thing but oh how sweet it looks.

Spring is well and truly round the corner now.

GROOOVY!

SHE WAITS FOR TADDIES. THAT'S WHAT WENDY DOES

I’m doing a Daily Frog and Taddy Watch, but no sign of either as yet, perhaps its a good thing as the bird book also says that the Moorhen tend to feast on tadpoles.

Oh! Such is life in the country/seaside garden.

THE JOY OF MAKING GARDEN PLANS AND CHASING BARGAINS

I’ve wanted to have Hamamelis shrubs in the garden for years but have been too tight - or maybe just too sensible - to pay the horrendous price for Witch Hazel.

Joy Upon Joy, indeed. I spied and bought two that were half price last month at a huge garden centre near my friends in Nantwich.

See! That’s female logic. Instead of buying one and saving £15, I ended up buying two as that meant that I hadn’t spent a penny more than if I’d bought one before the Winter Sale.

I now have a fab yellow one (I can’t remember the name but at least I’ve left the label there so I can go and have a look at the name.

It grows to six feet high and wide and is meant to have a very strong perfume, the other one is to die for (no that isn’t its name but should be). It’s a very strong copper colour and grows to about twenty feet.

Apparently the copper coloured ones don’t have a perfume which I never knew until I read the label. Anyway, they have bedded in very nicely thank you very much and so I’m looking forward to seeing them develop in the next couple of years.

The Hellebores are just coming into their own right now and are lovely. I bought a few new ones last year and of course had to buy a few more this year, so they haven’t formed huge clumps yet. It won’t take long, though.

A FROSTY WARMTH AMONG THE ROBINS

We have three Robins who appear to get on very well with each other - at least most of the time.

One of them is everyone’s best friend, the other two sometimes have handbags at dawn types of falling out - until I threaten them with the naughty stool that is!

Yesterday (Feb 11th), one of them had started nest building so hopefully it won’t be long until we hear the patter of tiny feet.

PAUL MACARTNEY'S FAVOURITE BIRD

‘My Mate’ the Blackbird is still around and is so tame its untrue, he’ll sit on my foot and look up lovingly into my eyes, well its only cupboard love really but I do like to pretend.

I’m just concerned that one day I’m going to tread on him as he does like to stand right behind me not saying or singing a thing.

SMOKIN!

THE YEAR IS ALEADY BEGINNING TO RUSH AWAY

It's important to have your plans and plants in place before the growing season because that's the only control you'll ever have.

The weather and independent Mother Nature are the unknown variables that you can only hope are in your favour.

I’ll be back next month with the latest report from Le Jardin Wendy at Chez Steele in Bull Bay. In the meantime, please do get in touch to share your news.

I'd love to hear from you. You can do it below.

Wendy

Do you have any questions for Wendy
or want to share some thoughts?

It's good to share, especially if you can spare someone's feeble back with your magical advice.

I am so delighted that Wendy has decided to write her articles and to share the challenges and delights of her gardening adventures.

So if you have any questions about how to engage with Nature to transform your garden into the best room in the house, then do get in touch.

If you have any photographs then we'd love to see them.

Enter Your Title

Share your thoughts [ ? ]

Close Help Entering your story is easy to do. Just type!... Your story will appear on a Web page exactly the way you enter it here. You can wrap a word in square brackets to make it appear bold. For example [my story] would show as my story on the Web page containing your story. TIP: Since most people scan Web pages, include your best thoughts in your first paragraph.

Upload 1-4 Pictures or Graphics (optional)[ ? ]

Close Help Do you have some pictures or graphics to add? Great! Click the button and find the first one on your computer. Select it and click on the button to choose it. Then click on the link if you want to upload up to 3 more images.

Add a Picture/Graphic Caption (optional)  

Click here to upload more images (optional)

Add a Picture/Graphic Caption (optional)  

Add a Picture/Graphic Caption (optional)  

Add a Picture/Graphic Caption (optional)  

Author Information (optional)

To receive credit as the author, enter your information below.

Your Name	(first or full name)
Your Location	(e.g., City, State, Country)

Submit Your Contribution

• Check box to agree to these  submission guidelines.
• I am at least 16 years of age.
• I understand and accept the privacy policy.
• I understand that you will display my submission on your website.

(You can preview and edit on the next page)

Click here to see the rest of the form and complete your submission.

Read WENDY'S NOVEMBER REPORT.

Read THE CHRISTMAS REPORT.

Visit WENDY MAIN GARDEN PAGE.

Return to HOME PAGE.

---

© Copyright William Gerwyn Anglesey-Hidden-Gem.com 2009-2023

---

SBI!