The greenhouse let me start them early. I reckon it has allowed them to grow on about another 2 or 3 ft from the sunflowers I grew the previous year
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You learn more from your mistakes than your successes , but that is a lovely display of sunflowers , great for pollinators and very PC this year .
I planted a lot of dwarf sunflowers this year
best wishes
Ian
I agree totally. That is why this year I’ve deliberately planted the same plants in several locations in the garden, simply to find out how the conditions vary so I can plan better for next year. Fairly new.to this gardening game (COVID convert) so learning curve is still fairly steep.
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Yes, I would just plant dwarf ones there , they attract pollinators
just as well as the larger sunflowers
We all make mistakes, except for the person who has achieved nothing
Ian
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Just bought this hedgehog house. It restores my faith that you can still buy craftsmanship at general outlets, as this was just an average garden centre.
It’s all beautifully made from hardwood and most, if not all, is oak. The top section is fitted like a barrel construction and water resistant and all the other joints are perfect. The inside roof is lined to ensure it’s waterproof. Even every edge has a slight chamfer. Well done whoever made it.
Now just got to decide where’s the best place to put it. If anyone has personal experience with hedgehog houses, I’d be grateful for tips.
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In a hedge?
Seriously, I find hedgehogs under piles of dead material either in or near the hedge when they aren’t out and about at night. Also I check under bonfires I have built before lighting in the autumn or winter. We are lucky enough to have a good population of 'hogs here and at night our dog rushes out and checks the hedges before getting down to business.
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Somewhere quiet and infrequently visited - is the theory
I’ve had them hibernating next to the house. A very bad experience with such a house recently, a pigeon got in … and couldn’t get out.
The roof is off the hog hotel letting the air get to it.
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Wonderful. Enough space for four hedgehod-sized cars…
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There is a download under information.
Our experience? They prefer the piles of leaves and twigs.
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thank you, very good
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Apologies, that was not the intended link, try a search for British Hedgehog Preservation Society
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It was a nice link anyway. I like hedgehog clips.
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View from my listening snug this morning. The Green is now a Brown. The ground is as hard as iron. Been a while since we’ve had conditions like this.
And still no sign of rain…
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Harder than an actuary’s heart
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First feed of home grown tomatoes from daughter’s poly tunnel.
They are struggling to keep the chillies,peppers and corn alive but the rest is a bit of a wipe out.
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It’s all about hedgehogs now.
Found this baby hedgehog in the garden on Sunday. It was curled, lying sideways with those revolting blue bottles & green bottles on it. Turned it over and hundreds of fly eggs on it. Washed them off and put it in a cardboard box with hot water bottle and cloth. Tried feeding it and tried syringing water into it’s mouth, but no joy. Rang around animal rescue centres and vets. So long-winded and no joy. Left it overnight in the box, but next day he was no different. No food eaten and just lied on his side, semi-curled. Found one hedgehog place willing to take him in. They gave him a fluid injection and syringed soft food into his mouth. Within 20 mins he was alert and looking way better. He’s only 2-3 weeks old, dehydrated and undernourished. It’s really worth the effort if you find something like this. They won’t survive by leaving them to sort their own lives out. They need our help and specifically specialists help and these specialists need our help, because they’re all volunteers.
I took in a fair amount of advice from the rescue centre, who were very knowledgable. They advised to put out chicken cat food biscuits and water. They said that hedgehogs don’t use the same houses to eat from and nest in. I put food inside my new house as a trial on Tuesday night. Yesterday morning I was surprised to find all the food gone, but there was a bit of doubt whether rats or mice had eaten it. Last night I put out more food and set up a camera to capture what happens. At around 10:30pm my phone alerted me there’s movement and I watched this hedgehog munching away and drinking water. He kept coming and going until 4:40am until all the food was gone. It was very surprising to see it spending so long at the water throughout the night. Whether it’s birds, solitary bees or hedgehogs, it always amazes me how fast they find things. I have a few videos of it, but here’s a shot of him choosing his starter.
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