Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
17th April 2021
Be Dafft Not To
Is there a charity project, gardening group or general ‘good cause’ that would like these daffodils?
Although people redecorate and sometimes reconfigure a new home, gardens are often ‘inherited’ and never altered. I’m never sure if it’s just too daunting for most or whether the option is never even considered.
I must admit to often trying to get a client to change their perspective rather than some of the actual aspects they say they can’t live with or find jarring. But it is also refreshing to work with someone who absolutely knows what they want and has the drive and energy to make it happen.
So – as a consequence of the latter, these daffodils are free to a good home, but you will have to come and dig them up and collect them. The location is approximately a mile outside Abergavenny and the access is easy.
Do please share the opportunity with friends and neighbours, as I am keen they are recycled and rejoiced in!
Most people take daffs for granted a bit and assume they don’t need any care, especially large swathes of them. Although they are relatively self sufficient and usually just reappear to cheer us up every spring, they will appreciate and do better with a little TLC if possible.
Removing the daffodil blooms as soon as they fade will help them put valuable energy back down into the bulb for next year, rather than focussing their energy on the development of the seeds. I appreciate this isn’t always feasible, and you may be daunted by drifts of daffs, but it can actually be a therapeutic job and doesn’t take as long as you might think.
The quickest and easiest way is to nip the faded bloom off just behind the seed-head with your thumbnail. This makes it easier to put the spent heads straight in a bucket or trug too. But you could also just snip the old flower head off with scissors or secateurs and leave them on the ground, especially if naturalised in grass.
Don’t be tempted to remove or mow over any of the leaves until they have turned brown and channelled all the goodness back into the bulb. It is the critical aspect of daffodil care after they bloom. The leaves absorb energy from sunlight, and through the process of photosynthesis, the energy is converted into chemicals that produce sugar and is sent back into the bulb as food. And that’s all that keeps bulbs blooming year after year.
If you remove the foliage too early, the bulbs will be starved and stunted and may only produce leaves the following year. Don’t be tempted to tie the foliage in knots or with string to make them look neater either, as that will also hamper the channelling of the sap.
The whole system is another fascinating and clever aspect of nature, and one that works well – don’t mess it up!
Add to Contacts
After writing up the importance of looking out for post-hibernating hedgehogs recently, I found this little girl stuck in a fence at a client’s garden last week. Once I had freed her, she seemed okay, quite perky and was a reasonably good weight (I thought) but as always, I called Terri at our local Hedgehog Helpline and arranged to pop her in for a check over.
Good job I did as Terri found a wound under her front leg which I didn’t spot and gave her some antibiotics. Whilst with Terri for just 4 days, the little hog almost doubled in weight – despite seeming quite ‘porky’, she had actually been very hungry and dehydrated. Of course, we don’t know how long she had been stuck in the fence for.
Anyway, the moral of this story is if you find a hedgehog out in the day – injured or not – please take it to your local Hedgehog Rescue to be checked over. There are so many things that could be wrong that you wouldn’t even be aware of.
The best thing to do is to make sure you have the contact and number ready, before you actually need them. At one stage, I think Terri was part of my ‘friends and family group’, I was calling her so often. Thankfully I’m not finding as many injured or daylight-wandering hogs, but I have her number ready when I do.
Whilst you are looking for the local Hedgehog Helpline number, look for your local Beekeepers Association one too. It won’t be long – if the weather ever warms up – before honeybees are swarming, and just in case you find a swarm, that is another number that should be in your contacts list.
I see great coaches extolling the virtues of preparation for a successful business, but it is also relevant for hedgehogs that need help and bees on the move.
Thank you.
Snow Joke
I’m sure that April Showers used to mean rain showers, not snowy ones. It’s a tricky time for gardeners – and anyone who spends a lot of time outdoors. Garden centres reopening recently will have also added to the enthusiasm felt to just get on with gardening but the weather obviously has other ideas. Don’t panic. Things will always catch up – nature is good at that. I haven’t even sown my seeds in the greenhouse yet. I don’t see that there’s much point yet. As soon as the weather sorts itself out and settles down, things will grow well – and without having to run the gauntlet of frosts, snow and mini heat-waves.
I used to start some of my talks with the line, “Hello, I’m Lynne and I’m addicted to gambling. Gambling with seeds, compost and a trowel.” It usually broke the ice.
‘Garden Gambling’ is definitely the healthiest form of gambling and is becoming more and more pertinent the more that the seasons alter.
Covid Recovery
Thank you to everyone who has been asking how I am after having Covid. Basically I am making a good, steady recovery, although obviously not quickly enough for me. I get out of breath easily and feel annoyingly weak. It’s the inconsistency that is particularly frustrating. A productive day is often followed by one that has to be written off, as I feel totally wiped out, and a good morning can precede a rubbish afternoon. Possibly because I have ‘done too much’ as people are kindly advising me.
It reminds me of being a teenager with huge fluctuations in energy, moods and tolerance levels – I’m just not really sure what’s going to happen next, (‘what’s new?’ asked my brother). I’m often close to tears or a tantrum mid-afternoon due to tiredness and frustration (‘what’s new?’ asked my brother), and oddly I am finding interacting with people totally exhausting (you can guess what my brother said).
Thank you for all your good wishes and lovely messages, they all help aid recovery.
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