HIGHER MORWELL GARDEN DIARY
13th January 2017
The nights are drawing out and we’ve had some good
weather for gardening. Tree planting and moving are
about done for winter, and the first flower of 2017
has bloomed. The badger attacks have stopped since
I put more chopped chillies down in their favoured
spots, although the webcam has spotted something
like a badger in the gloom early one morning.
We ordered a prunus serrula
online, it arrived beautifully
packed and protected and we
planted it as the third tree in the
line by the house. We also ordered
a plum tree with the root stock we
wanted from a different supplier
based in Torquay. It arrived in a
very narrow cardboard box, and
any branches that couldn’t be
easily pushed into the box had
been cut off or snapped and left
hanging. It is on the left in the
picture right. We took a trip to our
nearest garden centre in
Launceston and for the same
money bought the tree on the
right.
In the foreground left is
the site of the old plum
tree, found to be
absolutely rotten at the
heart when cut down.
The new good Victoria
plum has been planted
very close to where it
was. The ravages of the
last badger attack here
are still evident, it is a
painstaking job to sort
the divots out and tread
them back in.
We have complained
about the poor state of
the online plum tree but
are giving it full TLC in a
pot.
First flower of 2017,
later than last year
when daffodils had
been blooming since
December.
The webcam has infra-red lights to ‘see’ things at night but unless they are very close it is always a bit
of a guessing game. However, right is a fairly common visitor nowadays during the night who sits on the
old stone gate post at some time and is probably a barn owl whose eyes light up like a rabbit’s eyes do.
On the left is an indistinct shape on 11th January but sizewise looks like it might be badger - it is about
the usual time at 04.42. Didn’t like the bits of chilli in the grass then… no damage.