The message
from "Lucy" contains these words:

I underlaid a large Pyracantha with bark with the idea that fallen dead
leaves would not show up as much as with gravel. It is working up to a
point, but the blackbirds are throwing it all over the adjacent paving as
they search for insects. As they start at dawn and continue on and off
until dusk, it is hard to keep up with them. Does anyone know of a way of
stabilising the bark?

Concrete. You could paint it to look like fallen leaves.

Janet.

On Tue, 14 Oct 2003 16:28:12 +0100, Janet Baraclough
wrote:

The message
from "Lucy" contains these words:

I underlaid a large Pyracantha with bark with the idea that fallen dead
leaves would not show up as much as with gravel. It is working up to a
point, but the blackbirds are throwing it all over the adjacent paving as
they search for insects. As they start at dawn and continue on and off
until dusk, it is hard to keep up with them. Does anyone know of a way of
stabilising the bark?

Concrete. You could paint it to look like fallen leaves.

or even Chatsworth House?
--
Martin

"Lucy" wrote in message
...
Are onmaps all the preceding stuff? If so, sorry about my last reply! I am
a
bit new to newsgroups.

I have never heard of onmaps and I have been playing in newsgroups for about
twenty years, when they were still called bulletin boards and when the net
was not yet a public facility. .
The stuff at the top are known as headers. Please don't remove them,
because they tell you and me who said what when.

Later, when you have had some experience of playing in newsgroups, and have
learnt how to snip irrelevant stuff, you will develop a feeling for when it
is safe to remove the odd header here and there without spoiling the
integrity of a thread.

Franz

"jane" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 14 Oct 2003 15:22:40 +0100, "Lucy" wrote:

~I underlaid a large Pyracantha with bark with the idea that fallen dead
~leaves would not show up as much as with gravel. It is working up to a
~point, but the blackbirds are throwing it all over the adjacent paving as
~they search for insects. As they start at dawn and continue on and off
~until dusk, it is hard to keep up with them. Does anyone know of a way of
~stabilising the bark?
~Lucy
~
~
black (coloured) bird netting?

That is very bad. You might get blackbirds and thrushed caught up in them.
The truth is that there is no so;ution for the problem of birds throwing
mulches around. It is just one of the features of gardening.

Franz

"Lucy" wrote in message
news


Araldite is too expensive, I fear. Another adhesive - PVA perhaps?
Whatever, I would need to keep the birds off until it dried, or the result
might be some unwanted ornaments.
Lucy
--
You might be right there Lucy.....mix PVA with 50% water and apply with a
watering can. It might bind the bark together. It is used in the building
trade to bind loose flakey walls before plastering so give it a try! (Small
sample area first.!!!! )

what about a plastic cat :-) like the plastic hawk but more cat shaped.

dont string it up either, sit it under the bushes.

clanger

"Lucy" wrote in message
...
I underlaid a large Pyracantha with bark with the idea that fallen dead
leaves would not show up as much as with gravel. It is working up to a
point, but the blackbirds are throwing it all over the adjacent paving as
they search for insects. As they start at dawn and continue on and off
until dusk, it is hard to keep up with them. Does anyone know of a way of
stabilising the bark?
Lucy

Xref: kermit uk.rec.gardening:170912

On Tue, 14 Oct 2003 20:49:27 +0100, "gitfinger"
wrote:


"Lucy" wrote in message
news


Araldite is too expensive, I fear. Another adhesive - PVA perhaps?
Whatever, I would need to keep the birds off until it dried, or the result
might be some unwanted ornaments.
Lucy
--
You might be right there Lucy.....mix PVA with 50% water and apply with a
watering can. It might bind the bark together. It is used in the building
trade to bind loose flakey walls before plastering so give it a try! (Small
sample area first.!!!! )

You could buy epoxy in a larger quantity, International Epiglas from a
chandlers, for example. Araldite is an epoxy resin.

--
Martin

In article ,
(Lucy) wrote:

I underlaid a large Pyracantha with bark with the idea that fallen
dead leaves would not show up as much as with gravel. It is working up
to a point, but the blackbirds are throwing it all over the adjacent
paving as they search for insects.


Wretched, isn't it! There are a few things you can do:

1. Plan so that there is a distance of at least 3' between the stem of
the plant you want to mulch and the path you *don't* want to mulch.
Mulch the plant to a radius of 2'. This will:

a) Greatly reduce the debris reaching the path
b) Keep the plant reasonably well mulched as the birds redistribute the
bark.

2. Use a pale coloured mulch such as year old bark or gravel. The birds
seem to go for dark brown.

3. Erect a barrier between the bark and the path. A gravel board
80-100mm seems to work. Two reasons:

a) The birds tend to throw away from barriers
b) It seems to stop a lot of what they do throw going further.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com

"gitfinger" wrote in message
...

"Lucy" wrote in message
news


Araldite is too expensive, I fear. Another adhesive - PVA perhaps?
Whatever, I would need to keep the birds off until it dried, or the
result
might be some unwanted ornaments.
Lucy
--
You might be right there Lucy.....mix PVA with 50% water and apply with a
watering can. It might bind the bark together. It is used in the building
trade to bind loose flakey walls before plastering so give it a try!
(Small
sample area first.!!!! )

That would not be clever. PVA does not rot at a reasonable rate and it will
coat the bark, thus sealing a large part of the surface against entry of
rotting agents.

Franz

"...........Does anyone know of a way of stabilising the bark? ....."
Don't bother.....
Just take 4 and 20 of the birds, bake in a pie.
If the birds begin to sing when the pie is open then the oven wasn't hot
enough.....


--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

The message
from martin contains these words:

On Tue, 14 Oct 2003 16:28:12 +0100, Janet Baraclough
wrote:

The message
from "Lucy" contains these words:

I underlaid a large Pyracantha with bark with the idea that fallen dead
leaves would not show up as much as with gravel. It is working up to a
point, but the blackbirds are throwing it all over the adjacent paving as
they search for insects. As they start at dawn and continue on and off
until dusk, it is hard to keep up with them. Does anyone know of a way of
stabilising the bark?

Concrete. You could paint it to look like fallen leaves.

or even Chatsworth House?

Chatsworth House wouldn't fit under a pyracantha.

Janet

in article , Janet Baraclough at
wrote on 14/10/03 10:46 pm:

The message
from martin contains these words:

On Tue, 14 Oct 2003 16:28:12 +0100, Janet Baraclough
wrote:

The message
from "Lucy" contains these words:

I underlaid a large Pyracantha with bark with the idea that fallen dead
leaves would not show up as much as with gravel. It is working up to a
point, but the blackbirds are throwing it all over the adjacent paving as
they search for insects. As they start at dawn and continue on and off
until dusk, it is hard to keep up with them. Does anyone know of a way of
stabilising the bark?

Concrete. You could paint it to look like fallen leaves.

or even Chatsworth House?

Chatsworth House wouldn't fit under a pyracantha.

Janet

No but it would be interesting to hear 'Debo's' views on getting rid of
blackbirds......
--

Sacha
(remove the 'x' to email me)

"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...

"gitfinger" wrote in message
...

"Lucy" wrote in message
news


Araldite is too expensive, I fear. Another adhesive - PVA perhaps?
Whatever, I would need to keep the birds off until it dried, or the
result
might be some unwanted ornaments.
Lucy
--
You might be right there Lucy.....mix PVA with 50% water and apply with
a
watering can. It might bind the bark together. It is used in the
building
trade to bind loose flakey walls before plastering so give it a try!
(Small
sample area first.!!!! )

That would not be clever. PVA does not rot at a reasonable rate and it
will
coat the bark, thus sealing a large part of the surface against entry of
rotting agents.

Franz

I'm not sure that I want the bark to rot too fast!
Lucy

"Clanger" wrote in message
...
what about a plastic cat :-) like the plastic hawk but more cat shaped.

dont string it up either, sit it under the bushes.

clanger
Worth try. A sparrowhawk would give our cat the screaming abdabs - she is
even wary of the blackbirds...

"Lucy" wrote in message
...
I underlaid a large Pyracantha with bark with the idea that fallen dead
leaves would not show up as much as with gravel. It is working up to a
point, but the blackbirds are throwing it all over the adjacent paving
as
they search for insects. As they start at dawn and continue on and off
until dusk, it is hard to keep up with them. Does anyone know of a way
of
stabilising the bark?
Lucy

"Steve Harris" wrote in message
...
In article ,
(Lucy) wrote:

I underlaid a large Pyracantha with bark with the idea that fallen
dead leaves would not show up as much as with gravel. It is working up
to a point, but the blackbirds are throwing it all over the adjacent
paving as they search for insects.


Wretched, isn't it! There are a few things you can do:

1. Plan so that there is a distance of at least 3' between the stem of
the plant you want to mulch and the path you *don't* want to mulch.
Mulch the plant to a radius of 2'. This will:

a) Greatly reduce the debris reaching the path
b) Keep the plant reasonably well mulched as the birds redistribute the
bark.

2. Use a pale coloured mulch such as year old bark or gravel. The birds
seem to go for dark brown.

3. Erect a barrier between the bark and the path. A gravel board
80-100mm seems to work. Two reasons:

a) The birds tend to throw away from barriers
b) It seems to stop a lot of what they do throw going further.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com

I have a 75 mm barrier - I guess I could raise it a bit. I hope you are
right about the year-old mulch, 'cos it has been down about six months now.
Lucy