In message
Rob wrote:

Hedgehogs should be in hibernation now, if not they probably
won't survive. I had a small one (this years young) wander
down the garden last week to the back door and ate the food I
had left out for the cat, this was about 2pm. The following
day it returned around 1pm for another feed so boxed it up and
took it to Tiggywinkles near Aylesbury, they confirmed that it
would not have survived so it will be overwintered there then
released in the spring. Reading their newsletter they
overwintered over 500 of them last year.

The hedgehog I saw is adult size so it may survive, however I'll
leave the cat food out in the feeding house just incase.

Food house pictured here;
http://stephen.hull.mediacave.co.uk/...foodhouse1.jpg
http://stephen.hull.mediacave.co.uk/...foodhouse2.jpg
http://stephen.hull.mediacave.co.uk/...foodhouse3.jpg

Stephen.



Stephen,
Great work with HH. I built an HH home a few years ago but have had
little success.
How large are the cut-outs in your food house/box ?
Was this a guess or is there guidance available for big enough for HH,
too small for cats ?
Rob

Cheers
The cut-outs are about 3in square, a small cat would probably get
in but certainly not the big moggies we have round here.
The double set doorway should be just big enough to allow the
hedgehog access into the second chamber.

I haven't taken note from any other source when I built the food
house but I did build something similar a few years ago when I
found a sick hedgehog walking up the road in broad daylight, the
sick hedgehog house only had one entrance but again was double set
to provide extra protection from predators, I gave this
substantially built house (which was constructed out of wood not
mdf) to the local hedgehog sanctuary complete with the hedgehog.
The sanctuary were impressed with the construction and said they
would use it as a home for sick hedgehogs to recover in.

We are lucky, we have two hides in the garden but one is difficult
to for us to access as it is almost hidden behind the compost
frame.

I might upload some before and after pictures to my website of our
small garden taken over a three year period since we moved in if
anyone would be interested.

Stephen.



--
http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk
Coach painting tips and techniques + Land Rover colour codes
"Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble". Henry Royce

In message
Sacha wrote:

On 2010-12-22 11:31:31 +0000, said:

snip
I might upload some before and after pictures to my website of our
small garden taken over a three year period since we moved in if
anyone would be interested.

Stephen.

Yes please! It's of interest to all gardeners to see what others have
done over a period of time, imo.

Hi Sacha,
The link he http://stephen.hull.mediacave.co.uk/garden/
I have made them into a sort of picture viewer but in no
particular order, just click on one for full sized view.

You'll see the neglected garden as it was when we first moved in
to the property in July 2008, the old lady who lived here before
us bought the bungalow brand new and hasn't really done much to it
in the 50 odd years she lived here, it still had the old 1950's
kitchen when we moved in, rotten floorboards in the bedroom,
bathroom suite was horrid also with rotten floorboards, we are
very pleased that all this work we have done single handed has
been worth it now we can relax and enjoy it.

Stephen.


--
http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk
Coach painting tips and techniques + Land Rover colour codes
"Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble". Henry Royce

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2010-12-22 11:31:31 +0000, said:

snip
I might upload some before and after pictures to my website of our
small garden taken over a three year period since we moved in if
anyone would be interested.

Stephen.

Yes please! It's of interest to all gardeners to see what others have
done over a period of time, imo.

Well since you mention it, you might want to watch the video I just uploaded
to youtube. I'll post the link when I've checked it out.

Steve

In message
Sacha wrote:

On 2010-12-22 14:01:04 +0000, said:

In message
Sacha wrote:

On 2010-12-22 11:31:31 +0000, said:

snip
I might upload some before and after pictures to my website of our
small garden taken over a three year period since we moved in if
anyone would be interested.

Stephen.

Yes please! It's of interest to all gardeners to see what others have
done over a period of time, imo.

Hi Sacha,
The link he http://stephen.hull.mediacave.co.uk/garden/
I have made them into a sort of picture viewer but in no
particular order, just click on one for full sized view.

You'll see the neglected garden as it was when we first moved in
to the property in July 2008, the old lady who lived here before
us bought the bungalow brand new and hasn't really done much to it
in the 50 odd years she lived here, it still had the old 1950's
kitchen when we moved in, rotten floorboards in the bedroom,
bathroom suite was horrid also with rotten floorboards, we are
very pleased that all this work we have done single handed has
been worth it now we can relax and enjoy it.

Stephen.

Talk about making a difference - from no life and colour to plenty of
it. I like the pebble edging to the pond - am I right that's what it
is? We have an area where nothing grows under the shade of a mature
redwood tree so we've put a bench there and covered the earth with
large pebbles - I really like those used in an appropriate area of a
garden. I call it the 'beach bench'. It's very popular on a hot day!
It's hard to imagine how hard you've both worked at it, considering the
house and garden *both* had to be seen to. I'm full of admiration for
your hard work and the difference you've made to the garden. Do you
happen to have a list of what you planted? What's the bright pink
plant just beyond the birdbath and is that a peony 'this' side of it?
It would be interesting to know what you chose to bring about the
transformation! In the later photos we can see how they've matured,
too. Thanks for taking the time to do that.

Glad you appreciate them Sacha,
Unfortunately last year we found a dead hedgehog that had drowned
in the pond, the pond *was* ground level, but you will notice in
the later pictures we have since raised the pond level as the dead
hedgehog was quite upsetting because we blame ourselves for the
death by creating the pond in the first place.

The pond edging is simply bamboo cane about a foot high filled in
with soil with pebbles on the top and a few water loving plants
dotted around the edge, the surrounding area around the pond is
barked.

I must praise the wife for the choice of plants though as I'm just
the labourer in the garden, she has the flair for gardening.

There are five fruit trees in what we call the barked area, one
conference pear, one victoria plum tree and three crab apple
trees, they are all about forty/fifty years old.
Also dotted about the garden and in no particular place we have
successfully managed to grow tomatoes, courgettes, peas,
cucumbers and runner beans.

The pink and white plants around the pond are astillbes and a
couple of hebes, Those pictures were taken last year they have
come on even more this year.

The decking under the plastic table and chairs is the remainder
off the old 1 inch thick shed floor we removed, it will do for the
time being, next year we want to build a pergola over pond and one
over the decking ready for two grapevines we have in pots.

Can't wait until spring ;-)

Stephen.

--
http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk
Coach painting tips and techniques + Land Rover colour codes
"Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble". Henry Royce

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2010-12-22 15:44:18 +0000, "shazzbat"
said:


"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2010-12-22 11:31:31 +0000, said:

snip
I might upload some before and after pictures to my website of our
small garden taken over a three year period since we moved in if
anyone would be interested.

Stephen.

Yes please! It's of interest to all gardeners to see what others have
done over a period of time, imo.

Well since you mention it, you might want to watch the video I just
uploaded to youtube. I'll post the link when I've checked it out.

Steve

Yes please!

OK, have a look at "our growing season"

Enjoy

Steve

In message
Sacha wrote:

On 2010-12-22 18:34:02 +0000, said:

In message
Sacha wrote:

Talk about making a difference - from no life and colour to plenty of
it. I like the pebble edging to the pond - am I right that's what it
is? We have an area where nothing grows under the shade of a mature
redwood tree so we've put a bench there and covered the earth with
large pebbles - I really like those used in an appropriate area of a
garden. I call it the 'beach bench'. It's very popular on a hot day!
It's hard to imagine how hard you've both worked at it, considering the
house and garden *both* had to be seen to. I'm full of admiration for
your hard work and the difference you've made to the garden. Do you
happen to have a list of what you planted? What's the bright pink
plant just beyond the birdbath and is that a peony 'this' side of it?
It would be interesting to know what you chose to bring about the
transformation! In the later photos we can see how they've matured,
too. Thanks for taking the time to do that.

Glad you appreciate them Sacha,
Unfortunately last year we found a dead hedgehog that had drowned
in the pond, the pond *was* ground level, but you will notice in
the later pictures we have since raised the pond level as the dead
hedgehog was quite upsetting because we blame ourselves for the
death by creating the pond in the first place.

Oh dear - horrible for you to find that. Unhappily, some creatures are
accident prone and you can only console yourself by thinking that
you've done what you can to eliminate the problem. However, if
something is seriously determined there isn't much one can do to avoid
absolutely all such occurrences and they all give us a nasty jolt.

What made finding the dead hedgehog worse was that I had built a
floating gangway in the pond to aid anything that fell in but the
hedgehog didn't make it. I believe hedgehogs are accident prone.

The pond edging is simply bamboo cane about a foot high filled in
with soil with pebbles on the top and a few water loving plants
dotted around the edge, the surrounding area around the pond is
barked.

I must praise the wife for the choice of plants though as I'm just
the labourer in the garden, she has the flair for gardening.

It's extremely effective and looks inviting - makes you want to go up
and peer into the water etc. I really like that look. I lack patience
at the planning stage, wanting to get plants in NOW. This means that
in the days before I was married to Ray, I was known to buy plants and
then wander around my garden with pots in my hands, wondering where
there was a hole to put them in! Your garden seems to have benefited
from a planned and thoughtful approach that I wouldn't be at all good
at but at the same time, there's nothing stilted or over contrived
about it.

We only have six goldfish in the pond and the occasional frog, we
don't want to overstock a very small pond to too many fish.
We planted a weeping willow over the pond but it grew so fast we
had to move it to the bottom of the garden where it has more room,
We didn't know they grew quite that fast but it was ideal for a
while providing shade over the pond until it started to droop too
low in the water.

I'll have to get Helen (the wife) to make a list of plants we've
put in, her idea is to keep part of the garden wild looking
especially the barked area which has some wild flowers and garlic
growing randomly.

There are five fruit trees in what we call the barked area, one
conference pear, one victoria plum tree and three crab apple
trees, they are all about forty/fifty years old.
Also dotted about the garden and in no particular place we have
successfully managed to grow tomatoes, courgettes, peas,
cucumbers and runner beans.

The pink and white plants around the pond are astillbes and a
couple of hebes, Those pictures were taken last year they have
come on even more this year.

Ah, that's what those are. They look very striking and that bright
pink really zings.

They produce such lovely soft flowers which look like cotton wool.

The decking under the plastic table and chairs is the remainder
off the old 1 inch thick shed floor we removed, it will do for the
time being, next year we want to build a pergola over pond and one
over the decking ready for two grapevines we have in pots.

A perfect place for the evening g&t, eh?

Definitely, sitting under the dappled apple tree on a hot summers
day with a cool glass of wine just can't be beaten.

Can't wait until spring ;-)

I'll join you in that! Here and there we see leaf buds developed and a
Chaenomeles on the house wall is clearly getting ready for its next
flowering. I have never gardened further north than Surrey (and I was
a total novice then, thinking Hostas seriously boring plants) so can
only say that my limited experience makes me very grateful for the
signs of spring we do get. I enjoy all seasons but this year I think
most gardeners must be looking forward to spring even now. Walking
around the garden and nursery today, so many Camellias are in bud both
in the garden and in pots that I felt spring optimism walking with me!

Helen says that the Camellias are one of the first plants to bud,
I wouldn't know I'm ignorant when it comes to plants.

btw Sacha I do enjoy reading your almost daily saga about your
chickens, mainly because we kept chicken in our older town house
nearly twenty years ago, I think they were Bantams and they can be
very amusing at times, I remember when they were young they always
flew upon my shoulder when I entered the pen to feed them, sadly
all gone now though.

Stephen.


--
http://www.stephen.hull.btinternet.co.uk
Coach painting tips and techniques + Land Rover colour codes
"Whatever is rightly done, however humble, is noble". Henry Royce