Down on the Allotment

Matron grows vegetables and fruit in a Hampshire garden. I've been growing veggies since I was knee high to a grasshopper. Some traditional varieties and old favourites as well as new ideas. I share my garden with my allotment assistant Daisy the Labrador. On Twitter as @MatronsVeggies

Tuesday, January 07, 2014

In The Bleak Mid Winter

 A stunning Winter sunrise over London on Sunday.  The allotment is hibernating at the moment but there are still plans to make.
 Don't be too tidy!.. I live by that rule!  Keep your fallen apples out, leave them on a border or in a pile somewhere in the garden.  Late Winter visitors will find these and they will be a lifeline for some birds when there is nothing else to keep them alive. You might make the difference.
 Last Winter, a flock of Fieldfares swooped down on my garden and demolished the crab apples on the tree, and cleared up a whole pile of apples under the Bramley tree.
Once they have discovered a cache in your garden their little bird brains will remember this location for next year.  Food sources are an important memory for hungry birds. Three years running these Fieldfares have visited my garden, and brought their friends and family too.  These pictures were from last year, but I await their arrival.

5 Comments:

At 8:00 AM, Blogger Celia Hart said...

We've seen large flocks of Fieldfares out in the fields and hedgerows here in Suffolk. None in our garden but a small flock of Redwings briefly visited the Yew Tree in our garden for a snack.

Will we get snow this year?

 
At 12:47 PM, Blogger Mark Willis said...

I live in NE Hampshire, and we seldom see Fieldfares, other than the odd one or two, but we get plenty of Blackbirds, and they love fruit and berries too.

 
At 9:09 PM, Blogger Carrie said...

Oh lordy I adore that third photo! So important to help our feathered friends. We don't have fruit in the garden or Lottie right now but lots of fat balls and seeds and peanuts :)

Xxx

 
At 6:48 AM, Blogger Cabbage Tree Farm said...

Great photos Matron.
Happy New Year to you :-)

 
At 8:11 PM, Blogger Damo said...

Happy New Year. Lovely sunrise pic.

 

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