In a small garden (11m long, 6m wide) I have to make compromises.
An obstacle wherever I put it
Wherever I hang the bird feeder, I can bang my head on it when standing up from doing something in the border. If I put the pole IN the border, the squirrels and pigeons trample the plants beneath eating the dropped seeds. If I put it on the paving, I bang my head.
Black slippery paving always in the shade
Our brick paving is often green and slippery because of shade. The “mow, blow and go” maintenance firms using industrial petrol machines often ruin everyone’s peace and now I am thinking twice about even using my domestic one as it makes such a dreadful noise. Still unsure what to do about that. Maybe I need to like it as it is and give it a good scrub now and then, quietly.
Duckweed on the pond
Years ago I put a small pond under the magnolia tree. I’m forever scooping out the petals in spring, the leaves in autumn and a thick layer of duckweed daily all summer. Books say not to put a pond under a tree. Too late now.
Rat hole in the shed floor
In our shed squirrels have made a hole in the roof so they can come in and out when they please and rats have made a few holes in the floor so they can come in for a poo when they need one. Believe me I have tried all sorts of snake oil solutions. I particularly laughed at the plug- in frequency thing that I couldn’t hear but apparently rats could and they would stay away. yeah. right. Emperors clothes methinks. So my compromise is to knock on the door before I go in so they can scamper away and we don’t have to meet.
My back fences are east and west facing. On the east facing one a common ivy from my neighbour has begun to colonise the fence on my side, searching for the morning sun. It’s looking lovely. I am hoping it will create a green fence rather than the grey of the fencing. Lucky me.
However, on the west facing fence, whatever I plant on my side quickly pops through the trellis to flower on my neighbour’s side to get the morning sun. I am left with stalk on my side while over on his there’s a curtain of Virginia creeper and a profusion of clematis flowers. Some stems have just shot through under the fence not even bothering to climb it first. Hmmmmm
For years I’ve had a bistro table and chair under the apple tree for my morning coffee. Since the tree is a bird toilet, I’m often wiping bird poo off the chair and table and am in constant danger of being pooed on. Last week I just moved them out from under the tree a few feet away. Birds seem less fond of pooing in mid air. Why did I not think of that before? Funny how we just don’t see an obvious solution when it’s staring us in the face.
