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!
The Grinning Gardener, Faversham Fringe
I will be bringing a show about gardening to the Faversham Fringe on Wednesday, August 28th at 8.30pm. More details and tickets here – Faversham Fringe, The Grinning Gardener.
Article In Topiarius Magazine
I recently wrote a piece for Topiarius magazine, the flagship publication of the European Boxwood & Topiary Society – of which Modern Mint is both a member and big supporter. Check out the EBTS here. They frequently run courses and talks too, so worth keeping an eye on. Below is the piece I wrote about the tools I use when making topiary and pruning trees…. Darren’s Piece In Topiarius Magazine I use Okatsune Secateurs, which I started pruning with when working on a large orchard in Hampshire. My Felco’s were too difficult to open with cold hands, but the chunky …
Art In A Topiary Garden
Just inc are you are free in the following dates in June, you can visit my mentor Charlotte Molesworth’s topiary garden… Check out the dates the garden is open here. And you can of course join both Charlotte and I for a topiary workshop in the garden in July, as well as September. Hope to see you there!