One word:  slugs. I can’t remember a worse year for them. Yes, we do have a healthy population of toads, frogs and birds and other invertebrates that like them for dinner, but they have nowhere near kept up with the sheer quantity of the slimy little beggars.

A while back Peter kindly made me a cage to put pots of tulips in to prevent the squirrels from munching them.  So this year it has had a second use:  to house trays of tender perennials so I can use those horrid blue slug pellets without fear of harming the other wildlife.  However after a few weeks of nurturing the very special and coveted (and quite expensive tbh) ‘double click cranberry’ cosmos  and nicotiana from Sarah Raven had eventually to be planted out. So what to use to keep them off?  

I researched online as you do and found some slug pellets that seemed to be pet and wildlife friendly. But when they arrived, they were that lurid bright blue colour that made me suspicious.  Further, more careful delving online suggested that the jury is out on whether they really ARE harmless to our little chums.  Further angst led me to conclude that the safest approach was probably a physical barrier. This was confirmed when, after planting some of the aforementioned cosmos in the border, a young female blackbird hopped along to see what I was doing.  There was no way I wanted to poison her she may well have been looking for dinner for her chicks.

So I got some of those weird pellets made out of wool to surround each plant.  They didn’t go far, I had to go back and get a bigger bag.  But they do seem to have worked, at least most of the time. Have the plants all survived intact?  No.  But enough have to date, so at least I can sleep with a clear conscience, on this at least!  Any foolproof suggestions as to what has worked for you will be gratefully received and passed on through this column to the good gardening folk of Tollerton of whom I know there are many!  Many thanks to the good people of the Tollerton gardening club for their fabulous plant stall yet again at the village event.  I had some great bargains from there, and all very cheap. 

Right now (mid June) is the start of poppy time.  They seed themselves around here at Charnwood, and I end up pulling a fair few up, but they do add glamour to the early summer border.  Slugs don’t seem to like them either!

A final word about Liz Fradd. Liz and I were close pals and we sometimes went on trips together to visit gardens.  One of my favourite memories is of a visit to Great Dixter in East Sussex for a day (rather pretentiously  called a symposium) about succession planning in the border.  It was a lovely trip, we laughed a lot and learnt a lot together. I also recall a visit to the Chelsea Flower show when we returned home laden with purchases and full of inspiration to take back to our own gardens.  Oh, and the small glass of fizz at £10 a time: what?!

Liz came at gardening from a completely different place from me. She set herself high standards and worked tirelessly in her beautifully manicured, peaceful space where everything looks absolutely perfect.  She achieved it magnificently as she did everything in her much  too short but amazing life.   As a result her beautiful garden is in complete contrast to my very relaxed and messy one, but nevertheless the love of gardens kept us close and very much enjoying each other’s company.  Times to treasure, she really was an amazing woman.

So there’s a lesson for all of us.  Live life to the full and especially 

enjoy your garden!

Kate Foale