Ye Olde Style Coffee Shoppe

squeaky

LOL We never have time to let any get flat in here

I wish that I could consider our common garden snails as edible. I'd never have to visit the butchers again! Hundreds of the little er, beggars, here. Hundreds I tell you.

rchddap1

I'd be happy with snails...we got slugs instead. However, we've also got birds and hedgehogs that like slugs (spotted a hedgehog the other night snuffling around the garden). haven't really had a problem since the birds realised that there was food to be had in them there bark chippings.

Oh, and mines a hot chocolate, with whipped cream, chocolate flake sprinkes and marshmallows please (not to be picky or anything)

squeaky

I've got frogs in the bathtub pond and they've started making a difference. I would so much like to encourage a hedgehog to come and adopt me.

rchddap1

We didn't know that we had one until my other half spotted the light on in the back garden. Its one of those that comes on when there is movement nearby. He looked out of the back bedroom window and saw a hedgehog snuffling around near our bird feeders. The birds that we have recruited are messy little ..... little....creatures, and I think the hedgehog was attracted by the seeds lying on the ground.

Other mornings we have woken to find the bark chippings in our garden all over the place....possibly know why now.

One thing we are missing in the garden is water...that we will have to fix now.

I only have a small garden (no room for a pond) but I wanted a wildlife garden and I think I'm getting there. Last year the sparrows had fights over who got to the bird feeders first. At one count we had a queue of around 15 to 20 birds!

Had great fun watching a mother sparrow feed her baby sparrows in our back garden.

Edit: Oh yes and I spotted 6 housemartin / swallow type birds flying around our little culdesac this morning...catching insects on the wing.

squeaky

Pond. Easy!

I have a complete bathroom suite in my garden.

It started when neighbours took out their old cast iron bathtub and were heading for the tip! So I asked if I could have it, and sank it into the garden. Piled a load of garden stones in one end so that if anything fell in it could find a way out and hey presto frog heaven!

Later I took the old toilet out of my former outside loo, turned the loo into my garden shed, and buried the toilet in the garden. Most of the local cats like to stop by for a drink!

Later still I mentioned to a visiting plumber that all I needed was a wash basin to complete the set. He said he's forever having to dump them (and pay for it) when people do up their bathrooms. Three days later I had a pedestal and basin delivered, free. The birds like this one

Total cost of three water features £0.00

rchddap1

You've just given me a good giggle with your garden bathroom suite. Would certainly make a talking point if you had visitors and they asked to visit the 'bathroom'.

I would love to have a pond in the garden, but we only have a 2 bed mid terrace house with an appropriately sized small garden. So in all honesty we don't have room for what I would call a real pond. However, I'm hoping to persuade my lovely other half to get a large flat dish / bowl and use it as a water bath in the garden.

He's off to a carboot at the weekend, so I'll have to drop some subtle hints (house brick style)

MrsMW

I feel really bad admitting this but I can't encourage birds or frogs into my garden because I'm frightened of them. Absolutely terrified. I've always had a phobia about birds, they make me feel physically sick. I had a big blackbird in the house last week and I was hysterical. Luckily MrW works nearby so I managed to shut it in the kitchen and hubby rescued me and put the bird out.
Anyway that's my confession so may I have a black coffe please. Hayfever is still bad.

Lillibet_2

My mum has two toilets planted up with bulbs in her garden, one of them is spray painted gold where I "borrowed" it for a theatre production a few years ago!


Would love to cure our slug problem with extra wildlife (ecologist husband would be in heaven:rolleyes: ) but we have a carnivorous cat who thinks all birds & frogs are fair game (and even the occasional squirrel : Would you believe the cat won! 2 dead squirrels on the dining room floor!) & with Spud on the way now is not the time to introduce water features methinks:eek: .

Am doing my best with egg shells but I think this might be a bit of a myth or else our local slugs are just very determined

squeaky

rchddap1 wrote:

You've just given me a good giggle with your garden bathroom suite. Would certainly make a talking point if you had visitors and they asked to visit the 'bathroom'.

I would love to have a pond in the garden, but we only have a 2 bed mid terrace house with an appropriately sized small garden. So in all honesty we don't have room for what I would call a real pond. However, I'm hoping to persuade my lovely other half to get a large flat dish / bowl and use it as a water bath in the garden.

He's off to a carboot at the weekend, so I'll have to drop some subtle hints (house brick style)

The main part of my garden is eight paces long and four wide and still has room for this en-suite bathroom.

Lillibet_2

MrsMW wrote:

I feel really bad admitting this but I can't encourage birds or frogs into my garden because I'm frightened of them. Absolutely terrified. I've always had a phobia about birds, they make me feel physically sick. I had a big blackbird in the house last week and I was hysterical. Luckily MrW works nearby so I managed to shut it in the kitchen and hubby rescued me and put the bird out.
Anyway that's my confession so may I have a black coffe please. Hayfever is still bad.

I think bird phobia ia quite common, I know several people with it so don't be embarrassed:A

Have you tried getting local honey to combat the hayfever? It needs to be from a local beekeeper as the honey will be made from local pollen so contain all the right naturally occuring anti-histimines but it really works, a teaspoonful first thing in the morning should do the trick:D