Edible fencing :)

[Andestine]

P.S.

H,

Finally found out what your signature means, but have found ale the more truthful of the two after many years of careful experimentation

A

[Hedera]

A honeysuckle that remains evergreen is var. Henryii, I have it and it has loads of flowers which the bumblebees love, and shiny black berries later. The leaves are large and a nice dark green and it doesn't suffer from mildew or pests. The wrens love fossicking about in it and the blackbird nests in it.
Good luck with your hedge.

[tcvarlh]

Hi Andestine,

I didn't know Hedera could be so treated until I came home one day after the council thugs had been around mowing grass (and thereby churning all the verges into mud-slicks) Cropping hedges (even on Private property and overhung) and generally making a complete B...-up of the area. But to my intense delight my Hedera took this crude and brutal treatment in its stride and within three months there was no perceptible damage.
'My' Hornets seem to be a well-behaved friendly lot and don't ever bother me. The neighbour's dog is another matter, they have the idea his barking is akin to a neighbour who likes everyone to enjoy his Reggae music at > 200 dB and I have seen one or two chastise him a couple of times, Tyson (the Dog) is a terrible coward and once he hears a low thrumming sound is indoors ASAP.
I watched the Dunnock hen mate with a young male then Pops arrived and pluck the young male's sperm away, mated with the hen and life went on for about an hour. When Robin landed on the grill, the cock Dunnock took umbrage and there was a fair old scrap, the two will not live in peace now. I get the impression Mr Dunnock thinks he has been cuckolded by that rascally Robin and the Robin feels unjustly accused. Brightens my day to see 'em behaving so!
Truly Woodies can be thick, hanging upside down on a twig that bends when a Tit sits on it and then fluttering madly to get back to some sort of decorous position. Loopy critters!
I'm amazed you worked out my signature, not many have even recognised it as being a Scandinavian language and a dead one at that. I think that Wotan's family got a very raw deal and I wanted to give them a little moral support.
h

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by Andestine

I very much like your idea of using Sweet Pea and Morning Glory while the more permanent climbers are getting established. Forgive my ignorance, but can I grow them over the other ones? Or in the gaps between them? Andestine

I wouldn't expect the annuals to compete well with strong growers like clematis or rubus and was really only suggesting these as (literally) 'stop gaps'. However if you have the inclination you could certainly experiment with mixing both annual and shrubby climbers. I'm always amazed at what 'works' in very tight planting set ups so perhaps Ipomoea growing through Rubus would be an effective arrangment - though there may be additional demands upon watering and ground preparation.

CM

[Andestine]

Originally Posted by Hedera

A honeysuckle that remains evergreen is var. Henryii, I have it and it has loads of flowers which the bumblebees love, and shiny black berries later. The leaves are large and a nice dark green and it doesn't suffer from mildew or pests. The wrens love fossicking about in it and the blackbird nests in it.
Good luck with your hedge.

Thank you, Hedera,

Now that’s what I needed to hear I looked up Lonicera henryii and it sounds quite perfect (soil permitting, as I haven’t checked that out yet). I’ll definitely give it a home. I’m keeping organic, so any plants that are resistant to pathogens get a warm welcome from me. And tempting blackbirds from next door, and wrens from the far hedges across a field would be a bonus.

My mum used to love honeysuckle best of all, and it would be good to have some in the garden to remind me of all the country walks we used to take together.

Andestine

[Andestine]

Originally Posted by tcvarlh

Hi Andestine,

I didn't know Hedera could be so treated until I came home one day after the council thugs had been around mowing grass (and thereby churning all the verges into mud-slicks) Cropping hedges (even on Private property and overhung) and generally making a complete B...-up of the area. But to my intense delight my Hedera took this crude and brutal treatment in its stride and within three months there was no perceptible damage.

Ah. Not violence on your part, I see We have similar problems with council hackers, and it hurts to see the hedgerows butchered by machines. Twice a year around here.

'My' Hornets seem to be a well-behaved friendly lot and don't ever bother me. The neighbour's dog is another matter, they have the idea his barking is akin to a neighbour who likes everyone to enjoy his Reggae music at > 200 dB and I have seen one or two chastise him a couple of times, Tyson (the Dog) is a terrible coward and once he hears a low thrumming sound is indoors ASAP.

I greatly sympathise. You are not alone. In case you haven't come across this one I can't resist sharing it It always sounds unfinished to me, but I love the description of encroaching madness that can be caused by a barking dog

Another Reason Why I Don't Keep A Gun In The House

__ The neighbour’s dog will not stop barking.
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark
that he barks every time they leave the house.
They must switch him on on their way out.

The neighbour’s dog will not stop barking.
I close all the windows in the house
and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast
but I can still hear him muffled under the music,
barking, barking, barking,

and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra,
his head raised confidently as if Beethoven
had included a part for barking dog.

When the record finally ends he is still barking,
sitting there in the oboe section barking,
his eyes fixed on the conductor who is
entreating him with his baton

while the other musicians listen in respectful
silence to the famous barking dog solo,
that endless coda that first established
Beethoven as an innovative genius.

Billy Collins

I watched the Dunnock hen mate with a young male then Pops arrived and pluck the young male's sperm away, mated with the hen and life went on for about an hour. When Robin landed on the grill, the cock Dunnock took umbrage and there was a fair old scrap, the two will not live in peace now. I get the impression Mr Dunnock thinks he has been cuckolded by that rascally Robin and the Robin feels unjustly accused. Brightens my day to see 'em behaving so!

That would explain the Dunnock's behaviour. Thanks.

I love watching how birds behave. Dunnocks really do have fascinatingly convoluted mating systems, especially the way the females will have secret assignations with beta males.

I think mine is a young female, and not a jealous male, which might explain her subservience.

But I’m interested in your use of the term ‘pluck’. As I understand it he pecks at her cloaca to stimulate her to eject a droplet of fluid containing sperm (with him observing from a safe distance, I hope ). Does he then remove it? I’ve seen them mating, but without all that pecking.

Truly Woodies can be thick, hanging upside down on a twig that bends when a Tit sits on it and then fluttering madly to get back to some sort of decorous position. Loopy critters!

Definitely neither elegant nor visibly bright, and total seed-Hoovers, but I love their subtle velvety colours.

I'm amazed you worked out my signature, not many have even recognised it as being a Scandinavian language and a dead one at that.

I like finding out things. I’ve had a ball here discovering what all the fascinating Latin signatures mean

I think that Wotan's family got a very raw deal and I wanted to give them a little moral support.

As he was the father of poetry, he has my support

A

[Andestine]

Originally Posted by Cotham Marble

I wouldn't expect the annuals to compete well with strong growers like clematis or rubus and was really only suggesting these as (literally) 'stop gaps'. However if you have the inclination you could certainly experiment with mixing both annual and shrubby climbers. I'm always amazed at what 'works' in very tight planting set ups so perhaps Ipomoea growing through Rubus would be an effective arrangment - though there may be additional demands upon watering and ground preparation.

Hello CM,

I understand what you mean about ‘stop gaps’, and think it’s an excellent idea.

I’m going to be looking at all the helpful suggestions on this thread, work out what kind of soil I have, and come to a decision about planting over the next three weeks. I can see myself trying a mixture of plants. Luckily I have no water restrictions to think about.

I'll be reporting back as soon as things get going. My nursery man assures me that the soil is still warm enough to plant out now. I, in my ignorance, assumed that spring was the only time for planting anything out. I have a lot to learn

Thanks once again for taking the time to help me.

Andestine

[tcvarlh]

Hi Andestine,
I spent hours this Spring lying flat on the floor being a bit of a avian voyeur watching the Dunnocks sex life, they have as far as I observe a very crafty set-up. The Cock and Hen seem to have a half-way open relationship. She will mate with a younger male, a 'boyfriend' but the Cock then will remove the sperm packet, I did not see him actually fly off with it so it may well be the 'plucking' is only to stimulate the Hen to eject the packet. The boyfriend is unaware and assumes the chicks are his and so helps feeding. Clever and as both the Dad and boyfriend seem to time their arrivals with food they never conflict. A survival technique par excellence I think. The Hen sits the nest, gets fed by both the males and as soon as the chicks hatch the two lads support each other, one doing his Fatherly Duties and the thinking he's 'The Daddy'. Anyway that's how I observed it, perhaps I got it wrong but it sounds the sort of thing Mother Nature would dream up.

PS
This form of voyeurism is legal!

PPS
Love the poem, just amazed the poet used Ludvig instead of Johann Sebastian.

h

[Andestine]

I spent hours this Spring lying flat on the floor being a bit of a avian voyeur watching the Dunnocks sex life, they have as far as I observe a very crafty set-up. The Cock and Hen seem to have a half-way open relationship. She will mate with a younger male, a 'boyfriend' but the Cock then will remove the sperm packet, I did not see him actually fly off with it so it may well be the 'plucking' is only to stimulate the Hen to eject the packet. The boyfriend is unaware and assumes the chicks are his and so helps feeding. Clever and as both the Dad and boyfriend seem to time their arrivals with food they never conflict. A survival technique par excellence I think. The Hen sits the nest, gets fed by both the males and as soon as the chicks hatch the two lads support each other, one doing his Fatherly Duties and the thinking he's 'The Daddy'. Anyway that's how I observed it, perhaps I got it wrong but it sounds the sort of thing Mother Nature would dream up.

Your observations agree with everything I’ve read so far. I’ve never subscribed to the silly idea that we’re ‘higher than the animals’. I think that if we followed Mother Nature more than Culture, many of us would be better off

But things get more complicated with Dunnocks, I believe. There’s talk of ‘gamma’ males and also ‘alpha plus’ males who can monopolise not just one, but two females’ territories. But this can go wrong when he loses his grip and has to share both territories with other males. There are also rare cases of two males joining forces to defend up to four females’ territories.

According to Dominic Couzens, Dunnocks were responsible for the creation of a new concept and a new words to describe this behaviour: polygynandry.

Just goes to show that the quiet kind really are the ones you have to watch

PS
This form of voyeurism is legal!

As I understand it, so are other forms, as long as it’s with consent

PPS
Love the poem, just amazed the poet used Ludvig instead of Johann Sebastian.

A