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!
Shears Or Power Tools?
Shears or power tools? What is best to use? The Joy Of Shears I love my Okatsune shears, the beautifully balanced red and white handled pruning shears from Japan. They do everything you need, whether giving a little extra detail to a topiary piece or bashing their way through a hawthorn or beech hedge that boundaries a garden. Another pair of shears you may wish for, that are far sharper than any power tool ever needs to be, is this Tobisho made pair of curved, steel blades… They are basically two samurai swords bolted together. So sharp they could cut …
Bite Size History Of Running A Small Business
A potted history of my small business, inspired by the wonderful bite size blog posts of how Charles Boyle has run CB Editions, so I thought I would do something similar for Modern Mint. Well, with Coronoavirus hitting I have the time to get all nostalgic…. Moved to Essex from Hampshire, going from a list of relentlessly busy garden maintenance jobs in huge gardens whilst spending evenings and weekends doing project planting and lawn care work to… nothing. Went to Japan for two weeks, a gift to myself for making the move away from a job where I was such a …
Second Hand Tobisho Topiary Shears
My Tobisho Topiary Shears are up for sale! Browse Here If you are a tool nerd, or a boxwood geek or just a fan of beautiful, handmade items then these are for you! I am refreshing my tool bag and, as these wonderful shears are so rare, thought I would offer to someone with a lust for this kind of thing. Check them out – Tobisho Topiary Shears.