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!
Wasting Water
Well worth a read in the BBC today – a note on how wasting water in the UK “as socially unacceptable as blowing smoke in the face of a baby.” Read the report here. I have written a talk about how we use water in the garden. It was written when I moved from Hampshire to Essex and found out for myself just how dry this area of the UK is. It completely changed the way I garden. The lack of such a precious resource as water made me question what we can do to save it, store it and …
The Foie Gras That Tastes Like Nature
Ethical Foie Gras? Is That A Real Thing? Foie gras – can it be ‘grown’ ethically? The video showing how this farmer works suggests it can… We first read about this in a book called The Third Plate by Dan Barber. I loved it and I love how Eduardo the farmer, who farms on the Dehesa in Spain, has a ‘take half leave half rule’. When talking about how the geese eat his olives… “They’re always quite fair. If you make sure the geese are relaxed and happy, you’ll be rewarded with the gift of fatty livers. That is God’s …
Hardy Orchids Via James Wong
Hardy orchids – here is a subject I would love to know more about – so lo and behold, James Wong has written about it in the Guardian! Read the article about hardy orchids here. I love having orchids in the house, just your usual run of the mill buy them in any shop orchids, but it is a pleasure to read about the plants that will grow outside and cope with this weather. (This insane weather! From the hottest days of February on record to Storm Freya, all within a week. Weather is always such a factor in gardening, but …