My garden 😞

Xerocles said:

You listed it as a wildflower, but my research shows it is from Europe and Northern Asia. I can find no reference to it being an invasive species. Yours just must be a garden escapee.

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I'm from wales, Xerocles, and these are wild here, though lots of us have them in the garden. These are growing wild on a bank, but are quite close to the house. Nice tough and hardly little plant. Lots of primroses out, too....these are totally wild.

Xeroxles what is that horrid black snake? We are spoilt over here by only having the harmless grass snake, and the mildly venomous (but rare and extremely shy) adder.

Sheepshape said:

I'm from wales, Xerocles, and these are wild here, though lots of us have them in the garden. These are growing wild on a bank, but are quite close to the house. Nice tough and hardly little plant. Lots of primroses out, too....these are totally wild.

Xeroxles what is that horrid black snake? We are spoilt over here by only having the harmless grass snake, and the mildly venomous (but rare and extremely shy) adder.

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Ahhhhh.... you are from Wales. I haven't spoken with you before , and your location isn't listed. Stupid arrogant me, I just assumed you were American. Well that explains a lot. Yes, for you, that is a Wildflower. A Google search turns up only one place to purchase these (in the U.S.)...and they import them, I believe, from Holland. But they are beautiful, and I very likely will purchase and plant some, this fall.
The snake? That is my FAVORITE type of snake. DEAD. Actually, I'm not much of a snake fancier. So I can't give you the official species. All my life, they've simply been called black snakes. They're non-venomous, and beneficial in that they eat other vermin. So most farmers and gardeners welcome them. I'm somewhat neutral, and if I see one at a distance, I will let it live. Nyx, the dog, however does not have the same laissez-faire attitude. She killed 5 of them last season. All about the same size, roughly 1 1/2 - 2 meters long. And she is contained in an area only about 150 m by 150 m. But that's her job. Any animal that enters that area, and doesn't live here, doesn't leave. So far, the only animal that has bested her, has been a terrapin. And she worried it for an entire day, before it was finally able to crawl beyond her barrier. Harmless or otherwise, I refuse to get involved with the rescue of the visiting animal. She is doing her job, and I don't want to confuse her. She is very good at discerning animals who live here (chickens, ducks, rabbits, her "pets"-she abides without threat) from interlopers. Anything else is a potential threat and she efficiently deals with it. She is Apex. Nature at its finest.

I had ducks once. That was enough for me. I raised Perkins for the freezer and was more than happy to put them there. I had a trio of runner ducks and gave them away. Chickens are so much easier.

I forgot, I tried ducks a second time. I got muscovies. My male Great Pyrenees, Trip, ate them. Problem solved.

Xerocles said:

Ahhhhh.... you are from Wales. I haven't spoken with you before , and your location isn't listed. Stupid arrogant me, I just assumed you were American. Well that explains a lot

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That's not arrogance....just the site not displaying my location ....maybe out of fear of the name of my most local town as being LLanfair-ym-Muallt...and don't try saying that after a few shandies unless you are wearing a very long and absorptive bib. But snakehead lilies love our damp, chilly, dull and misty weather (much more than I do).

I quite like snakes, but black snakes somehow look sinister, though I guess it's the brightly coloured ones that we should be wary of.

Baymule said:

I had ducks once.

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The only ducks I have are wild ones...mallards, and they're no trouble (then the mini-lake is a distance from the house). I also have (way too many) chickens.....and half of them are trying to go broody. This morning two hens were sitting atop one group of eggs and rolling in any eggs the other girls had laid. Luckily I have marked the original group otherwise they would end up sitting on hundreds. Chickens are easy to care for, though.

Just butting in here, regarding the snakehead lilies, here's a website that lists quite a few retailers for the bulbs... one of the retailers even has a white on white version.


Maybe you'll fine it useful.

animalmom said:

Just butting in here, regarding the snakehead lilies, here's a website that lists quite a few retailers for the bulbs... one of the retailers even has a white on white version.

Other Suggested 'Fritillaria' varieties

www.gardenia.net

Maybe you'll fine it useful.

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Butting in? You're kidding. This is just what I was hoping for. I don't know why I didn't find that site myself. And there's one Farm in North Carolina. I will be able to contact them and see how it handles the weather here. Thank you very much for your help.

I've got the white ones, too...they are still in bud. Some are also a paler purple.

The garden is progressing,but not so much as far as getting plants in the ground. I knew from the moment I was told that I needed Runner Ducks, that the garden would have tho be fenced. To contain the ducks, to deter potential predators, and primarily to keep deer from devouring the plants. I fretted many hours as to the best way to accomplish this. My neighbor told me to keep an eye behind me as I planted pepper plants, as the deer would be following along behind eating them as fast as I could put them in the ground, and he had personally seen deer jump a six foot fence from standing still. His only success at gardening was to install solar motion lights on small plots. Hmmmmmm.
Then @Beekissed suggested that a knee high electric fence has kept her garden deer-free for 35 years.
So I'm rolling it all into one package. 2 ft high chicken wire to contain the ducks. (That's about all chicken wire is good for. Fowl containment). Inside the posts. Outside the posts will be double strand electric @ 5 in and 24 in. to deter smaller animals and deer. And a solar motion light to frighten off any late night intruders that Nyx fails to notice. (Or, heaven forbid, at least give them good light to make their foraging easier for them). Short of setting up a guard shack and posting third shift with my shotgun, I really can't imagine more that I can do.
I'm in the process. All the posts have been cut (I am blessed with an abundance of cedar on the property.) Only 8 more posts to set (today if I get off this site and get to work) and then ready for the wire. Although the fence will only be 24", posts are still 18" in the ground with 24" for the corners (and no corner braces...it's only chicken wire). And will have a 40" wide double gate so I can get my garden cart in if I need to, but double so I don't have to worry about gate "sag". Already I have cursed my heavy clay many times, but I have to admit, it is REALLY good for setting posts...like concrete.
And for the inevitable question, YES I will post pictures when it's done.
I do have a question for those familiar with electric. Since I am using deep (at least 12") mulch throughout the garden, do I need to clear it to dirt OUTSIDE the fence to insure good grounding to any animals touching the wire? Or only a thin layer to help retain a more moist ground? Does a thick layer of hay work to insulate and prevent grounding of the wire if contacted?
Enough stalling. Out to fight that auger 8 more times. Roots, rocks, and heavy clay. Thought I was going to break my wrists a couple times in the past two days.

Only problem with that combination, my friend, is that the deer can now easily visualize your fence, therefor have no need to explore it with their noses...they can see it and can easily hop right over it. Not sure how much success you'll have with that combination unless you bring the SINGLE strand of wire out from the visual chicken wire fence about 5-6 ft.

If you want to run a lower strand offset on the chicken wire fence, then put a single strand out about 6 ft from that, it may have some success. Not sure how much success you'll have with the deer with the fence you've described.

Xerocles said:

I do have a question for those familiar with electric. Since I am using deep (at least 12") mulch throughout the garden, do I need to clear it to dirt OUTSIDE the fence to insure good grounding to any animals touching the wire? Or only a thin layer to help retain a more moist ground? Does a thick layer of hay work to insulate and prevent grounding of the wire if contacted?

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No clearing needed....they will ground just fine, no matter the mulch or hay cover.