Last Day of Winter

Spring arrives tomorrow, but this past week has been a foretaste of the season ahead. This year winter has been as temperamental as any gardener could wish for, the seasons being an integral element of all the life cycles which give the gardens their interest. The photographs below summarize the glorious meteorological fluctuations we have had in just 3 months of winter. The pristine white of the snow clad hills give way to fantastical rainbows, cold dazzling bright days, interspersed with heavy skies and glorious winter sunsets that close down the shortened daylight hours. Thank goodness for winter but time to welcome the thaw and spring ahead!

Deer: to deter or not to deter?

Three views from the window caught my attention and reminded me of the extra challenges facing the Pennine gardener and, for that matter, the wildlife. 

The snow has blanketed the hills for days. If you do not need to go out, then it can be a seasonal treat. But it has its difficulties, not least for the wildlife, and the local population of roe deer who venture down the hillside in search of something to nibble. Indeed, it is not only during the hostile weather that the deer come down into our garden but they have become a positive nuisance when they take a liking for some of my newly planted specimens. 

I have decided that this year I will research which plants seem less prone to be munched by the deer and I will share the results in future blog entries. However, from my experience last year the grasses seemed to survive surprisingly well as did the laurentia but the blackberries were all munched! 

I would always want to think that the wildlife would be welcome in the garden but at the same time I have no wish to put a lot of deterrent wire mesh guards around all my plants. A compromise will be actively sought for 2019. To deer-ter or not to deer-ter?

Roe deer tend to be solitary creatures during the summer months but often congregate in small groups during the winter, which explains why there were a group of three the other day. The following two web sites are well worth a visit for more detailed information:

~ The British Deer Society

~ The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and Merseyside