THE MODERN MINT BLOG
One Way to Deal with Rabbits in the Garden
When planting new borders at Waltham Place, the wonderful gardener Henk Gerritsen did this to stop rabbits from eating the new plants…
“It is a well known fact that once a perennial plant border has established itself, it becomes far less appealing for grazing animals, as young plants are much tastier.
In order to protect the new plantings, it was decided to scatter large quantities of seed of fast growing biennials, such as hemlock and woolly burdock. The first plant is so poisonous no animal would dare eat it…”
- Buddleja
- Cornus
- Cotoneaster
- Dogwood
- Escallonia
- Euonymus
- Ilex
- Laurel
- Laurus
- Philadelphus
- Pieris
- Rosemary
- Taxus
Perennials Rabbits May Not Eat:
- Aconitum
- Alchemilla
- Bergenia
- Crocosmia
- Epimedium
- Euphorbia
- Ferns
- Forget-me-not
- Foxgloves
- Hellebore
- Hemerocallis
- Iris
- Libertia
- Peony
- Persicaria
- Sedum
- Trillium
- Verbena
For a really great and far more comprehensive list, please try Spring Reach Nursery – rabbit proof plants.
Where does this leave us then?
Rabbit Proof Gardening
Members of the Iridaceae and Buttercup family are seemingly less tasty or poisonous, so you may want to fill your garden with them. If a plant is aromatic or exudes a milky sap, this may also help deter a rabbit. The list above proves there is still lots of great garden plants available to use, but we speak with this caveat – a rabbit may eat your plants even if they supposedly dislike it, because when hunger strikes…
The only 100% way to stop a rabbit eating the plants in your garden is to add a fence or get a border terrier. Or maybe try this Saluki?
Good luck defending your garden from rabbits!
Plastic ‘Dalek’ Compost Bin
Plastic ‘dalek’ compost bins. Peppered through the gardens in our country as a free gift from the councils. My guess is they gave out these bins because they wanted people to compost more, saving them money as they would have to take away less garden waste. Thinking to be applauded, right? But is there a design flaw in them and has it put people off making their own compost? The Great Reviews For A ‘Dalek’ Compost Bin Here is the one I mean… The ‘Dalek’ bin. They call it a compost converter online. It is made from recycled plastic, so that …
Why I Started Modern Mint
Why I Started Modern Mint I always loved working outside and especially working with trees. I still get a thrill, even now, when planting them. But it was only in 2014 when I moved from Hampshire to Essex that I began to shape and express the values I thought important enough to garden by – the ‘no chemicals’ rule, the recycling of resources, the increasing of life… My move to garden here in Essex, in the driest part of the UK, became the perfect opportunity to start again and share these ideas with people interested in the spaces and landscapes they live in. Modern Mint. The Place …
A Few Notes On Climate Change
Climate change – mention it and you are guaranteed to make the discussion political. (Which probably isn’t a bad thing, as long as people are not so entrenched in their views they won’t listen to the other side…. and of course, that never happens!) We went seal watching last summer on the estuary in Essex. It was amazing, seeing these wild animals just living on the banks. The man who took the group of us out on his boat spoke about the difference he has seen on the water over the last 30 years. He believes the water level has …