Nice People Thread Number 11 - A Treasury of Nice People

lostinrates

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

My sisters know that. The horses are in the next field.

The horses don't know that. One keeps trying to break in.

Nevertheless, little looks more beautiful the horses knee ip high. In buttercups.


Many people cannot fence them off. We cannot this year. Despite taking very heavy action against them last year :mad:

silvercar

GDB2222 wrote: »

We have broached this, but they were both absolutely fine.

Built up a resistance. Maybe the answer is to visit more often?

We once went to a charity supper quiz. A few days later the table hosts phoned us:

Him: How are you?
Me: Fine.
Him: No really, how are you?
Me: Really we are fine, thanks for a nice evening.
Him: No really, are you feeling OK
Me: Yes fine, why?
Him: Phew, every other table at the quiz has gone down with food poisoning.
Funnily enough on the way home, OH commented that the fish that was served to our table looked a darker colour than the others and he hoped it was OK.

tomterm8

vivatifosi wrote: »

astroturf...

is not such a effort free solution as you think it would be, due to having to keep it clean.

Weeds often grow up through gravel.

I think LiR chamomile is the best solution for a smaller garden, and I also think that the dread decking has its place, as well as concreting the entire area and installing plastic gnomes.

Yorkie1

vivatifosi wrote: »

Re model villages and alcohol...

...

I think Welwyn Garden City has one of the nicest looking town centres in Hertfordshire. St Albans is pretty, but it is also congested and tight to get around, whereas WGC is pretty and beautifully laid out with big parks and the most decadent roundabout (with a park in the middle).

I love the big boulevard in WGC which runs next to the wonderful JL. Really spacious and feels very elegant. :T

I was at Leeds Uni, and a central mile square in LS6 - studentland - was completely dry because of some restrictive covenant imposed by someone in years gone by.

Luckily, the main road heading out of the city centre through LS6 wasn't in that mile ... and so the public house run was a standard part of student life :eek:

vivatifosi wrote: »

Good people of the NPT thread, I'd like some advice please.

1. Replace the main turf area with astroturf and add flower beds round the side to be planted with low maintenance plants.
2. Similar to 1, but using a gravel or slate base instead.
3. Have a non-grassed garden, but with a series of flower beds and paths. This will require more maintenance than 1 or 2, but planting will be carefully selected.

I've seen astroturf at a friend's neighbour's house. I wouldn't have realised it wasn't real but apparently it can look a little weird if everyone else's lawns have dried out in summer!

I wouldn't have thought it was liable to attract cats poo - not enough loose material for them to want to use it. Gravel might depend on the size of the stones - I've got fairly large stones in my drive and don't get cat poo there either.

GDB2222

vivatifosi wrote: »

He's not anti grass per se, he's more anti mowing it...

I would like to have a local lad to mow the lawn, but sadly there are no local lads. The people who live round here are either retired, working professionals with no kids, or have small families. I don't think I'd be very popular if I let my neighour's 3 year old loose with a metal bladed Flymo. Therefore those who are serious about gardening round here are retired, or hire gardeners. The going rate is £25 per hour. I don't mind having a gardener come round, but I'm more of the once a month frame of mind than the once a week or fortnight. My lawn unfortunately is in a dreadful state. It wasn't laid properly to start with I think, though it looked ok when I moved in. It has a big mossy patch and lots of buttercups and dandelions and a corner of nettles.

Though I've just discovered this too, which may also be an answer:
http://www.husqvarna.com/uk/products/robotic-mowers/husqvarna-robotic-mowers-for-homeowners/
Or not as the case may be. I've just seen the price and it's more than my entire budget for the garden.

vivatifosi wrote: »

I like daisies and buttercups too. Thanks for all of the ideas everybody.

It's just the fine line between liking a bit of a meadow and the neighbours wanting to call environmental health... That's a reference to a thread on the board one up from here, where someone didn't like that their neighbours garden was overgrown and that it was bound to have rats in. For the record, there are no rats in my garden.

No rats because they can smell all the cat poo?

vivatifosi

GDB2222 wrote: »

No rats because they can smell all the cat poo?

That must be it:rotfl:

I've definitely gone off astroturf and am leaning towards something natural. I've been looking at thyme lawns this afternoon. I need to find a herb that cats detest and grow it instead of grass. That seems to be the answer.

That and lots of plants that bees, birds and butterflies love but cats can't abide.

Finally I'll continue to use my favourite trick as I already know it works: vaseline on the fence. Though I do get embarassed going into the chemist and buying lots of really big tubs.

GDB2222

Maybe you need one of these to spray the cats with water?

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/stv-defenders-jet-spray-wildlife-repeller-a88nk?gclid=CMHD2bqF4b4CFfMftAodDX8ALA

PasturesNew

I've watched Mary Portas (old people/employment agency), now watching 24 hours in A&E.... and can't help myself, but going to be watching My Last Summer at 10pm (they bring 5 terminal patients together who share their final journey with each other and the cameras).

PasturesNew

GDB2222 wrote: »

Maybe you need one of these to spray the cats with water?

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/stv-defenders-jet-spray-wildlife-repeller-a88nk?gclid=CMHD2bqF4b4CFfMftAodDX8ALA

.... one thing they don't point out ... you get soaked when you set it up or try to turn it off

vivatifosi

GDB2222 wrote: »

Maybe you need one of these to spray the cats with water?

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/stv-defenders-jet-spray-wildlife-repeller-a88nk?gclid=CMHD2bqF4b4CFfMftAodDX8ALA

Thanks for thinking of these GDB

I'd love, love, love to have one of those. Unfortunately my outside tap is at the front of the house, not the back. I've looked at the practicalities of having one installed at the back and it isn't practical as I have no water at the back of the house and it would mean raising the floorboards and laying pipe. I wonder if it would be possible to fix it to one of those compressed sprayers instead.

Which is very annoying.