1. What trees and shrubs should I have in my garden to provide berries for the birds in winter?
| What trees and shrubs should I have in my garden to provide berries for the birds in winter? |
There are quite a few trees and shrubs that will provide winter fuel for our feathered friends during the winter months. As well as being a good source fo food for birds, we humans can enjoy the show of berries too, and in a lot of cases beautiful coloured foliage, by selecting some appropriate species and cultivars. Birds will come into gardens from nearby farmland in winter to forage for food. Berries are a very important food source for birds during the winter, this is especially so when the ground is too frozen to provide insects. In these conditions worms and snails are very scarce and this is when the provision of berries is so important. Birds such as fieldfares and redwings, which visit us from eastern europe in winter, blackbirds and mistle and song thrushes, are the birds that are dependant on berries from hedgerows, trees and shrubs. These species will readily enter gardens when food in the surrounding countryside is scarce. So as well as feeding the birds with nuts, seeds, scraps and fat balls, why not plant berry-producing trees and shrubs to benefit you and the birds.
The following list will give you a few ideas of trees and shrubs to plant in your garden to assist our feathered friends.
| Name |
Common Name |
Type |
Description |
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| Berberis aggregata |
Barberry |
D |
This barberry produces large amounts of red berries during the winter months. Yellow flowers in summer and brilliant autumn foliage colours. |
| Berberis thunbergii |
Barberry |
D |
A small and neat shrub with beautiful autumn foliage and 7-10mm long red berries freely produced. |
| Berberis valdiviana |
Barberry |
E |
Large and leathery leaves on a stately tree with yellow flowers in drooping racemes and ovoid purple fruit. |
| Berberis wilsoniae |
Barberry |
D |
A great shrub for birds not only as protection owing to its thorns, but as a good source of berries. |
| Cotoneaster franchetii |
Cotoneaster |
E |
A semi-evergreen arching cotoneaster that is free-fruiting and with red berries. A popular small tree or large shrub. |
| Cotoneaster salicifolius 'Exburyensis' |
Cotoneaster |
E |
A large cotoneaster of a variable nature but bearing large crops of yellow fruits lasting well into winter. |
| Cotoneaster x waterii 'Cornubia' |
Cotoneaster |
E |
Another large cotoneaster of glossy leaves on a tall, arching tree. Scented flowers provide bunches of red berries. |
| Cratagus monogyna |
Hawthorn, May, Quick |
E |
The common hawthorn makes a large rounded tree if left to grow freely. Fragrant white flowers followed by red berries. |
| Euonymus alatus |
Winged Spindle |
E |
utumn foliage of crimson-pink and fruits of red-purple, open to reveal orange seeds. Many branched shrub. |
| Ilex x altaclerensis 'camelliifolia' AGM |
Highclere Holly |
E |
A large holly with spineless dark green leaves, reddish-purple when young. Large scarlet berries. |
| Ilex aquifolium 'Argentea marginata' AGM |
Silver Holly |
E |
A handsome female holly of creamy white marginated and spiny leaves. Bright red berries produced freely. |
| Ilex x meserveae 'Blue Princess' AGM |
Blue Holly |
E |
A small holly of a dense nature. Small oval spiny leaves of blue-green. Glossy red berries on a compact shrub. |
| Taxus baccata |
Yew |
E |
Perhaps the best garden hedging plant of all. Dark green needles; red fruits. Poisonous don't plant near livestock! |
| Viburnum opulus |
Guelder Rose |
D |
A handsome shrub with corymbs of white flowers and red translucent fruits which last well into winter. |
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| How do I get rid of moss in my lawn? |
The causes of moss growth in lawns needs to be understood before treatment can be undertaken; the conditions favourable to moss in lawns are:
- Poor drainage – wet conditions encourages tufted moss and fernlike mosses.
- Shade – moss growth is often strong under trees with a large canopy or in areas where there is little light.
- The lawn is cut too low – if the lawn is regularly scalped then moss growth will outcompete turf grass growth.
- Poor fertility – caused by a shallow soil beneath the grass or the soil is deficient in nutrients because of being a sandy soil or is a dry soil over boulders.
- A spongy lawn surface caused by a deep layer of thatch.
From the list above, select the root cause of the problem and try to deal with it.
Moss will thrive on thin swards where there is little competition from turf grasses so the creation of a thick and healthy sward will out compete invasive mosses. Moss killers will initially rid the sward of moss but it will return if the maintenance regime to thicken the sward is neglected.
The application of lawn sand, which contains ammonium sulphate and iron (ferrous) sulphate, will blacken the moss which should then be raked out of the sward, but do not rake the moss before the lawn has been treated to lawn sand or the moss will spread by way of disturbing the moss spores. Apply lawn sand at the rate of around 140grammes per square metre. |
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| My roses have black spots on their leaves, how do I get rid of them? |
Roses are still Britain's most popular flower and are available in many beautiful varieties and forms, but the show can be spoiled by unsightly blackspot disease.
- Select disease resistant rose varieties when purchasing new plants.
- Maintain a programme of fungicide spraying throughout the growing season starting when the first leaves unfurl in the spring.
- Remove all diseased leaves as they are spotted, no pun intended, and burn them or have them removed from your garden to prevent re-infection.
- Practice good hygiene around your garden at all times- keep a tidy garden!
- Mulch rose plants with manure each spring and fertilise with Fish, Blood and Bone at the start of the season and again at the start of the summer.
Blackspot will be spread by insects as they visit your plants, the disease spores will adhere to the insects and be spread over the foliage. Rub out aphids with your fingers as they occur, or spray with a good garden insecticide such as Bayer Multirose. |
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| When do I prune my Forsythia? |
Forsythia always puts on a great golden display in the spring garden, but to maintain that display and keep the plants in bound, you should:
- Shorten shoots after flowering.
- Not prune in winter as flowering will be vastly reduced.
- Prune quite hard Forsythias on walls after flowering.
- Leave un-pruned specimen plants in the open until such times as they encroach on nearby plants.
- Thin out the oldest wood every three or four years.
- Fertilise with Fish, Blood and Bone every autumn.
When grown as a hedge forsythia should be given only the minimal amount of pruning to encourage free flowering. Cut out flowered wood and thin younger shoots to around 150cm. of the base, if deemed necessary. |
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| I have got Cabbage Root Fly, what should I do? |
You will know cabbage root fly has infected your crop by the give away signs of stunted growth of seedlings and discoloured leaves that have wilted; and in its advanced stages by rotten roots.
Over-wintering as pupa, the emerging flies in the spring lay their eggs at the root of brassicas. These hatch after six days or so and feed on the roots of infected plants before tunnelling into the main stems of the plants, causing rot and eventual death to the brassica plant.
You may destroy infested plants by burning them, but do not be tempted to compost dead plants as the infection will occur again the following crop. Chemical cure is available but is not recommended for the retail trade.
Prevention of Cabbage Root Fly can be achieved by placing a 15cm diameter collar of carpet underlay around each plant. This will prevent egg laying by the adult flies in soil around the plant. An alternative to carpet underlay would be thick cardboard rings. Proprietary products are available from garden centres.
Burn all infected plants and do not plant brassicas on the same site for three years.
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| My garden is plagued with slugs, what do you suggest I do? |
Slugs can cause unsightly damage to plants as the slug munches away, especially during the night, at succulent leaves. Hostas are particularly prone to slug damage shredding the leaves and causing much frustration amongst gardeners.
A sprinkling of coarse grit around plants will stop the slimy pests from attacking the plant as this will disrupt the slug’s journey as it will not slither across such a coarse surface. Copper bands are also used to deter slugs. If you have a large garden with a pond get ducks who will chomp away merrily during the night on unsuspecting slugs.
Lay out saucers of beer near susceptible plants to give slugs a night they will never remember!
The chemical route would be to apply a sprinkling of slug pellets close to vunerable plants. The chemical ingredient is metaldehyde. This method is highly controversial and there are claims amongst many gardeners, including celebrity gardeners that slug pellets do harm to other animal life. The manufacturers, on the other hand, say their products are designed to be specifically attractive to slugs and not other creatures. Whatever is the truth if you feel compelled to use chemical treatment then use sparingly and sensibly by placing slug pellets under tiles or slate pieces to prevent birds, particularly thrushes, from having a peck or two.
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| How do I create a Wildflower garden? |
Unlike garden flower borders, a wildflower garden soil requires to be poor, i.e. low fertility. Do not sow a packet of wildflower seed and just hope-it will not succeed, and do not leave your lawn to grow long hoping wildflowers will take over, they will not!
Preparation:
- Scrape away the topsoil to a depth that you can manage, it that will contain nutrients and weed seeds.
- Make a fine tilth of the soil and lightly sow a good quality wildflower seed mixture that will have been blended for a specific type of soil, such as a chalky soil, a sandy light soil or a heavy clay soil. Aspire to have yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor) in the mix as this parasitic wild flower will help suppress grass allowing more wildflower growth.
- Lightly rake in the seed.
- Mow the area with mower blades set between 5 to 7 cms. three or four times in the first year and remove the clippings.
- After the first year mow once leaveing this until September to allow the flowers to set seed.
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