Weeding the Web

A Good Weed? Success with Chickens by Jeremy Hobson

Sooner or later, I suspect, every vegetable gardener ponders the possibility of chickens - I know I have - and if you have too then Jeremy Hobson’s recently published Success with Chickens, is a good place to start.

Jeremy moved to France from the UK in 2002, taking his love of chickens with him. As he couldn’t transport the flock he’d kept in England, he soon formed a new one. “Home wouldn’t seem like home without them,” he told me when I phoned. “I was brought up with them, my grandparents had them; they’ve always been around.”

The book has a very personal tone —“I really enjoyed writing it,” he said. “I had a free rein from the publishers and put more of myself into it”— and the result is an engaging, chatty read, which gives you far more than just the nuts and bolts of chicken-keeping. Their history, physiology, the make-up of eggs, why you should keep chickens, and where, are all covered in the first three chapters. For us gardeners, he allays fears about combining chickens and plants, pointing out that, with care, you’re actually likely to benefit.

Aimed mainly at beginners, the book is a mine of information that will set you solidly on the right path. It covers matters such as feeding, choosing healthy stock, general maintenance and keeping your hens healthy—as well as general information that will help you understand and appreciate them more.

More experienced readers are likely to find quite a bit of interest too, from choice extracts from vintage chicken-rearing tomes to a chapter on Breeding, Incubating and Rearing.

There is also a chapter on Showing. “I included it because if someone gets chickens for the first time, they might not know it’s an option, so it explains a little.” Jeremy’s belief in the value of shows stems from his worry about backyard chicken fanciers and will make you consider carefully any temptation to keep and breed from several different pure-breeds. “We all have a responsibility towards the continuation of the pure-breeds, the genetics of which could be lost if birds of mixed varieties continue to be further crossed,” he said. It’s not an idle worry, as bloodlines have been lost in the past in favour of more productive hybrids, while the Ministry of Agriculture warned of the consequences of faulty breeding between the wars.

Its value aside, showing sounds fun. “I’ve never noticed with people who show any nastiness,” says Jeremy. “They’re all willing and ready to help, even though they’re all competing.”

But showing isn't likely to be the first thing on one’s mind when starting off. The biggest mistake that novices make, said Jeremy, is choosing the wrong breed, and his chapter on What Chickens? covers thirty different breeds, divided into those that are practical, pretty or good with children, including Jeremy’s personal favourite, the Wyandotte, and lesser known types, such as Croad Langshan.

Ten years in France has revealed that, certainly in Jeremy’s rural area, it’s unusual to pass a house that hasn’t got chickens scratching around the garden, kept for eggs and the table. “There’s an element of people enjoying showing—a lot of fancy breeds originated in France—but less so than in Britain, I’d say.”

The French are less sentimental and happier to eat their chickens but Jeremy hasn’t acclimatised to that approach himself. If a hen has to be dispatched, he says, “I’d rather someone took them and used them,” but isn't keen to do it himself, especially when he’s got to know them.

You can understand why. On a balmy summer evening, Jeremy retires with a gin and tonic to a recliner by the open door to the chicken run. He paints a very tempting picture for anyone teetering on the edge of a chicken-keeping decision. “After a day at work, can there be anything better than going down to the hen house, feeding the chickens and collecting the day’s fresh eggs? I rather think not.”

Success with Chickens was provided for review by Quiller Publishing. RRP £14.99 ISBN: 978-84689-093-2

Pop over to Dreaming of Roses for Holley's own book review and a round-up of reviews for July.  

Malwina Strawberries - phyllody update

Regular readers will remember the Strange Case of the Leafy Strawberries. Last year my Malwina (Milvana) fruit grew their own leaves - a condition known as phyllody. Would they, we all wanted to know (yes, you did), do the same this year? 

Well, for all those suffering sleepless nights awaiting the result, I can finally say, No, they didn't. Flowers, perfect. Fruit, now ripening. So, it seems likely that the phyllody was induced by physiological strain and, fingers crossed, it won't happen again. Hurrah!

Malwinas are, I was told by Thompson and Morgan, who gave me the runners, too soft for supermarkets. They certainly have a rather luscious, yielding juiciness. I suspect that they aren't enough of a uniform shape, either, as they do tend to have knobbly ends. Quite tangy, they have a good acidity which rounds out the flavour in a way you don't find in the ubiquitous Elsanta, and seem a bit more powerful than Cambridge Favourite.

They've also raised the question of when to pick. I was told that they are an unusually deep red and so have waited to see that before picking. Husband says they've gone over at that point, and that you can tell because the darker fruit feel lighter, which means they are drying out, and the flesh has become mushy.

I don't agree and would argue that our expectations of properly ripe fruit have been distorted by the pale, crunchy juveniles we're sold from the chiller cabinet.

However, I note that anything I classify as totally ripe also has a bite out of it, despite the netting, so have acquiesced and am now picking them before something else does.

How do you judge when a strawberry is ready to pick?

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day: Morning Glory

Is it because Morning Glory's flowers last such a short time that they seem so beautiful?

May Dreams Gardens hosts GBBD. Visit to see what's blooming in other bloggers' gardens around the world.

Hampton Court Flower Show 2013 (part 2 - the gardens)

So, what trends appeared at Hampton Court this year? Well, I think there's been a better balance of plants and landscaping; straight lines seem less prevalent (thank goodness).  The collection as a whole felt less scolding, less inclined to bludgeon us to death with worthy messages, which I've found overwhelming in recent years.

Just about everything is kind to wildlife. If one more garden had said it was planted with bees in mind, I think I'd have screamed.

Having said that, a favourite was Bugs in Boots, one of the Association of Professional Landscapers' Low Cost, High Impact gardens (does that title give the public the wrong impression?).  Designed and built by Caspian Robertson of Surrey Gardens in the £13,000 category, its aim is to direct rainwater to a lower part of the garden where it can safely drain away via the SUDS (sustainable urban drainage system) beneath, without causing run-off problems. (Silver medal, and I really should have managed a better photo angle!)

The curved metalwork contrasted with the upright foxgloves, and Caspian thought that raindrops would look attractive dripping from them.

I guess it's not surprising after last year, but drainage was also on the mind of another of APL's gardens, In at the Deep End, designed and built by Monty Richardson and Peter Cowell of Living Gardens. It made a lovely oasis costing £7,000 (Silver medal). The planting broke up the hard landscaping, softening the edges of the steps...

...though I do I wonder how easy it would be to keep it in check.

I really wanted to talk to Sue Thomas, who designed the Willow Pattern garden, or Richard Thomas who built it, but unfortunately my visits didn't coincide with their presence. Its position was in afternoon shade and the graduated blues added to its calming, cool respite on a hot and hurried afternoon. (Silver medal.)

 

And then there were the conceptual gardens...

Some were just daft. Actually Dual/Duel wasn't a show garden, but "a concept art installation concerned with human nature" by Tony Smith of Hortus Infinitus, but it's so much what we've come to expect of conceptual gardens that I've included it here.

"Why do we fight?" it asks. We're meant to ponder whether it's because of personal differences or our descent from aggressive tribal animals (animals have tribes?). I ponder what dark secret lurks in his past that his overwhelming desire seems to be to up-end wheelbarrows.

Tip of the Iceberg (silver gilt award) I was prepared to hate. A pile of fridges? Sigh. But designer Caroline Tait won me over to quite a degree, though I still think they're not the perfect representation of man's wasteful nature, as fridges might create a waste headache when they're dead, but also prevent a lot of waste while they're alive.

The decommissioned fridges themselves were actually rather lovely (go on, you know you want to touch white goods) - pristine white and smooth ("The secret is car polish."). They were planted with alpines (fridge mountain, see?). The plants stood out against the installation and so took on a starring role that is sometimes lacking in this type of garden.

Caroline has discovered an unexpected fascination with fridge technology, and I wondered if we might not see reconditioned fridge carcasses gain chic as modern planters.

 

Ashes to Ashes (gold winner), designed and built by Bruce Waldock of Outerspace Designs, draws attention to the possibility that some ash trees will survive the Chalara onslaught by highlighting the project to return elms to the countryside, using potentially resistant specimens. It had a drama and balance between the stark blackened oak (ash can't be moved around Britain) surrounded by red roses (flames, of course) and the green mound which rose in hope, carrying a spiral of young elms. The curves and contrast gave a definite yin/yang feel.

Bruce really enjoyed making this garden. "There aren't many opportunities to create massive oak tombstones for a client," he said.  

 

Anything I hated? Valley Garden (silver gilt). The premise is good - a "pop-up" construction that can be assembled with different planting as desired on temporary sites. It's meant to bring landscape to a human scale, but felt cramped, gave you nowhere to contemplate it while others were waiting to journey up the 'V', and the black-dyed water looked mucky and dusty in the sunlight which showed up all the floating plant debris.

And finally, another I was surprised to like a lot. The Ecover Garden (gold, and Best in Show). Designer Matthew Childs used recycled plastic partly to draw attention to it as a material we should think about using more (something I've written about on several occasions). A great deal of plastic ends up in the oceans, so the theme of water covered many aspects.

You might question the desirability of a giant toilet cleaner bottle forming the fountain, but I think we can conjure glancing references to Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol in that, while allowing for Ecover's natural desire to advertise themselves... The planting itself was delightful, airy, swaying, evocative of water. In interview, Matthew explains a bit more.

For more pictures and comment, visit Down on the Allotment, Vegplotting, Out of My Shed, Dobies of Devon for Anne Somerset Miles' view of the McCarthy and Stone garden by Chris Beardshaw, In My Garden for a look inside the Rose tent.

If you'd like me to add another blog to the list or just want to opine on the gardens, do leave a comment below

 

Hampton Court Flower Show 2013 (part 1)

Facts about Hampton Court Flower Show:

• Area of showground: 34 acres
• Exhibitors at first show: 265
• Exhibitors last year: 600

That, you will realise, now makes for a mighty show to get round. It's reached the stage where it's just about impossible to do it in a day, although the new zone arrangement means that it's no longer necessary to traverse the entire site to see both the small gardens (this year named Summer Gardens) and the show gardens.

Chances are that all of us who made it to the Press Day yesterday missed something  Chris Young tweeted a picture from the Language of Flowers exhibit, missed by me (and Vegplotting). Mark and Gaz at Alternative Eden have already posted some lovely pictures, but are returning later to mop up the rest of the show.

I bypassed most of the trade stands, cast a cursory glance round the Plant Heritage tent, missed the roses completely. Here are a few of the things I did see:

Nikki Tibbles goes for an typically opulent (if rather impractical) henhouse design. The six designers included Deborah Meaden and Kate Humble and the houses will be auctioned on eBay. More pictures at Wild at Heart.

 

Edulis created a rather exotic look in the Growing Tastes tent:

Hooks Green Herbs managed 111 herbs in one stand:

The Native Butterfly garden was delightful (see that blur - butterfly in action!), and made it much easier to see the butterflies than Eden's biome, there to advertise their new overhead walkway.

New addition to the show is the Association of Professional Landscapers' "how to" display. During the week they'll be demonstrating how to lay turf, plant a tree and lay a deck (no fencing or slab-laying unfortunately, as the demos are only 10 minutes long). Their display shows a "bad" front garden and a "good" one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrities are more spread out than at Chelsea, though to be honest I'm not sure Mike Read counts. (He was reporting for Radio Berkshire, when not posing in front of Ecover's garden).  

 

Sir Donald Sinden took a spin around the Queen Elizabeth Foundation's garden, specially made for "people on wheels" as Bella Darcy Read told him. She consulted with designer Heather Appleton. His grand-daughter Harriet had been one of the team working on Cool Garden which won Best Summer Garden.

But what, you ask of the Show Gardens?  That's definitely something for a whole new blog post.

Greetings cards for gardeners

From time to time, I forage the web for cards for gardeners. Not so long ago Helene Taylor left a comment saying "I have a special relationship with most of my plants, but roses are really close to my heart." 

Well, I had to visit her blog after that, and it was a lovely surprise to find that she not only writes about gardening, but creates super artwork and produces greetings cards from her photos, some of which she generously lets you download  for free.  

Roses feature, of course, and I particularly liked her Gerbera series, but Helene has also just added a Gallery this year, where you can buy prints, canvases and cards, such as the Bleeding Heart pictured.

She's been blogging for a couple of years now, has a small but delightful garden, and her recent post Gardening with Difficulties makes one appreciate how much she achieves. If you think you take a lot of pictures of the garden, Helene manages 4000-5000 a year!