Nest Building, Tidy Gardening, Let There Be Light, Rhubarbeque Recipe, Cat(kin) Rescue & Spring has Sprung

Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
22^nd March 2025

Nest Building

It’s that time of year where I feel quite relaxed working in all the gardens I look after.

There is a sense of being ‘ahead’ of nature as everything is looking nice and neat – whilst still allowing habitats for wildlife of course.

The lawns have had one cut and stayed ‘cut’, beds and borders are weeded, mulched and edged up – nothing says ‘in charge’ more than a nice crisp edge to the borders – and all the hedges are clipped and ‘sharp’.

If you haven’t cut your hedges by now then please don’t, as birds are starting to build their nests.

I have noticed numerous blackbirds, sparrows and blue tits to-ing and fro-ing with beaks full of building materials.

I have put Yogi’s fur from her recent haircut outside and hung in an old peanut feeder. It is lovely to watch the birds use that for lining their nests – it must be like going to Webbs for soft furnishings to them!

Of course, this bliss won’t last.  By May or June, depending on the weather, nature will have changed down a few gears and accelerated past me and all gardeners and we will be left puffing and panting trying to keep up with the rapid growth of everything green.  So enjoy it whilst you can.

Tidy Gardening

Whilst pottering in my own garden on the weekend – I have the luxury of pottering now as all the main jobs are done – I was reminded that a lot of gardening is just tidying up really.  Yes, on one level there is the technical side of pruning, growing and knowing which plants are the best for each space, but for most ‘people with gardens’ just keeping the garden tidy will get them through every season, not just this quiet one.

Filming for BBC Wales years ago, one programme I pitched and presented was simply that – tidying up, although it was ‘delivered’ as a make-over.  As you went through the front garden there were two large pots either side of the door.  One had been ‘blown’ and broken by frost and both contained dead shrubs and weeds. There was also no direct access from the back garden to the front for the mower, so the small front lawn had remained uncut and had become a real litter trap.

Simply changing and planting the pots by the front door, employing someone to cut the front lawn – initially and on a regular basis – as they did others in the street too, and giving the gate a lick of paint, this little front garden was completely re-energized and looked great. There was no real gardening involved, just ‘tidying up’ and rethinking things like getting someone else to cut the front lawn regularly.  I preferred this option to putting down gravel, slabs or astro-turf – getting someone else to do the work also counts as ’no-maintenance’ in my book.

Of course, this is just one example and it was a relatively small space, but it can be rolled out on any size of garden, just break it down into manageable sized chunks.  Have a look around your own garden with ‘fresh’, unbiased eyes and pick up kids toys – and old unrecognisable dogs toys.

I have lost count of the amount of times that I get startled by a pair of beady eyes whilst going through beds and borders, to find it is an old dog’s toy.  Replace broken pots and furniture, find a suitable out-of-sight place for bags of compost, old pots and things not in daily use and whilst you’re at it, please get rid of all unused netting in your garden.

Recent studies have shown that garden netting is responsible for a startling number of wildlife deaths in the garden, from birds and bats to hedgehogs.  That alone is good reason for having a ‘tidy garden’.

Let There Be Light

One of my often-administered bit of advice when I go on a site visit in a consultancy capacity, is that if you are using a greenhouse as a shed, then use it as a greenhouse or get rid of it and buy a shed. And by that I mean, don’t use your greenhouse to store stuff – and rubbish!  It looks so damn unsightly having all your stuff on show.  And isn’t much good from a security point of view either.

Similarly, one of my pet hates is window sills that are chock a block with ‘stacked stuff’ in a porch, where you can see it all. It always makes a house look ‘derelict’.

I’m not the best person to give advice on housework in general but, please, clear the windowsill and use them for plants or bringing on seedlings. Or just to let light in as they were intended to do.

Rhubarbeque Recipe

Rhubarb is apparently having resurgence amongst the yoof.  As the generations ‘move on’, so many gardens have a patch of rhubarb that is no longer utilised.  I think one of the stumbling blocks to form a good relationship with rhubarb is that it is usually confined to sweet recipes, where ironically, it needs an awful lot of sugar to get anywhere near sweet.  Try it in savoury dishes and you’ll see it in a different light. Rhubarbeque sauce, for example, will have you falling in love with rhubarb.

You’ll need 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper, 3 to 4 pounds boneless pork ribs/chicken/halloumi or vegetables.  Mix the first three ingredients together and sprinkle over or rub into the pork –or whatever you choose to use. Leave to marinade whilst you make the sauce.

For that you’ll need about 10 stalks of rhubarb, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 chopped onion, 120 grams brown sugar, 10 tablespoons tomato ketchup, 125 ml red wine vinegar, 100 ml whisky (optional), 50 ml soy sauce, 4 tablespoons honey, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper

Preheat oven to 325°. Put rhubarb in a large saucepan, add enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, until rhubarb is tender – usually about 10 minutes. Drain, return to pan and mash well.

Brown the pork or chicken in a pan, prepare veg, or cube halloumi.  Remove pork or chicken form the pan and cook onion in it for 5 mins. Add all remaining ingredients, stirring in the rhubarb mixture. Add pork, chicken, halloumi or veg to pan, coating well in the mixture. Bring to a boil, then cover and bake until meat is cooked thoroughly and sauce has thickened – usually about 2 hours.

Cat(kin) Rescue

I have really enjoyed watching these ‘rescued’ catkins (rescued from going on a bonfire) develop in a vase at the cottage, but what surprised me is how quickly and determinedly they put out new roots too.

Willow is notorious for being enthusiastic about life and living – as this proves.

I’ll plant these out in a client’s hedgerow now; having something for free and unexpectedly doesn’t always mean you will benefit from it – sometimes it’s more appropriate to ‘pass it on’.

Spring has Sprung

The last few days have actually felt more like summer than spring, but on Thursday spring sprung and was heralded by the Spring Equinox, (also called the March equinox or vernal equinox).

Often associated with March 21st, the actual date can vary slightly, and for this year, it fell on March 20^th – at 5 am, to be precise!

So, welcome to spring – officially.