photo from the BBC Wildlife Finder website

LIFTING THE LID

... on a Grass Snake.

There's one in my compost bin!

On our first meeting, the shock of seeing it curled up there, basking on the top made me jump out of my skin, but ...

I am glad it's there, and for choosing our garden as its perfect habitat.

At this time of year a female will lay eggs in this warm and protected environment, and those eggs will incubate and hatch in September/October.

A Grass Snakes staple food is frogs. Guess that's maybe why I haven't seen many this year!

Grass Snakes are a protected species, so the compost will have to be left well alone

... for a while at least.

Easy identification - a Grass Snake and Smooth Snake (non-venomous) has round eyes, an Adder (venomous) has slit ones.

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my photos

THE YALDING GARDENS

Set in five acres of land in Kent, the Yalding Gardens is an inspirational garden for creative gardeners.



A dilapidated shed.



Rustic looking compost bins.



A garden roller.



A large clump of Rhubarb and terracotta forcer.



Willow poles covered with Runner Beans.



A raised bed full of Courgette plants.



An old wooden butt.








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Borders full of colour.

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my photos

COMPOST

Do you make your own compost? This is the question I asked in my poll for March. Thanks to everyone who voted, a record number of forty-four! Thirty-five of you said you do make your own compost, and nine of you don't.

I am fortunate enough to have a large garden with space to sacrifice for composting, and many of you have allotments which is a great place to be able to do this too.

From this above ...



... the result is this, which is full of worms! At this time of year I leave this lovely 'black gold' in situ to grow Summer Squash and at the end of the summer season, it is bagged up to be used for potting up seedlings, cuttings or divisions, either in the autumn or spring.

If you would like to compost, but don't know where to start, click on garden organic for everything you need to know.