Garden Supplies News

I have been keeping a close eye on my small garden pond since the annual explosion of frogspawn appeared a few weeks ago. The eggs have hatched and the pond is full of tadpoles which seem to be even more prolific than usual this year. My two young grandchildren came to stay for a few days last week and asked if they could collect some of the tadpoles in a jar to take them home as pets, but were persuaded that this was not really a good idea. And then yesterday two unusual visitors arrived and spent some time rooting around in the way that ducks do. After taking a few pictures I walked over to the pond and the pair took the hint and flew off. Quite why they should bother with my small pond when they have a large lake in a public park half a mile away beats me.

In common with many other places my area has seen hardly any rain this year and I noticed that exhibitors at the Chelsea Flower Show are planning
to create water-saving displays. “Drought gardens will take centre stage at Chelsea Flower Show this year – as leading designers make a virtue of cracked earth, recycled water and Mediterranean plants” reports Louise Gray in the Telegraph. Just as the activity of the ducks in my pond stirred up the mud making it impossible to see the bottom, the garden designers will be putting black dye in water features to make them appear deeper. And that is just one of the eco-gardening tricks described in this article. Read more..

“Claims of ‘helpful’ devices often wilt” is the headline to an article on one of my favorite topics garden gadgets. Denise Trowbridge writing in the Columbus Dispatch describes six products most of which are not as useful as they seem. Accompanied by photos of all except the upside-down tomato planters she reports the opinions of experts on the merits or otherwise of these items. Although the benefits of the upside-down tomato planters are described as “hooey”, some of the other products in the list do turn out to be worth the money. Read more..

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2. Conservation Gardening and Gadget Reviews
3. Camellias And Unusual Visitors
4. Growing In Shade, Weeds And Guerilla Gardening