A large family dog and an avid gardener don’t necessarily make for a peaceful team in any backyard, but there are ways of establishing a truce that can be lived with.
If you want to know why your dog barks incessantly or howls for hours and then chews anything and everything when left alone in the yard, do the following experiment: shut yourself up in your garden without tools, a book, a radio, a friend, or your cellphone. Place a bowl of dry, ant-infested food and warm, slimy water next to you. After about 15 minutes, you’ll also start howling or wrecking something.
Gardeners often complain about their ‘wrecking ball’ dogs, which dig up everything and damage their plants. The answer to this problem is not always an easy one. But consider this: why would you allow your pet (which is part of the family) to be naughty and a nuisance if your kids aren’t allowed to jump on the beds, have bad table manners, play in the lounge, or disturb the neighborhood with their loud music? Could it be that they only want to be loved, to get your attention, to be disciplined when needed, and have a routine to live by?
What applies to family members should apply to pets too. They can be taught social behavior and discipline with the help of puppy classes, dog trainers, dog therapists, and handbooks and websites about this subject. Our job is to dole out lots of attention and love, and to garden with animal-friendly principles in mind, if we expect protection and peaceful garden companionship in return.
A SPECIAL SPACE FOR ALL
Denne historien er fra June 2017-utgaven av The Gardener.
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Denne historien er fra June 2017-utgaven av The Gardener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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FIRE AND Feathers!
On a dreary winter's day, a screen of fiery and feathery leaves puts up a fight against dullness!
GET THE ladies in!
At this time of year, early-flowering shrubs vie with each other to get the most attention. We say: Trust those with female names for frills and butterflies. They go the extra mile to flower their hearts out.
Vegetable Soups and dumplings
Vegetables make the most delicious soups and classic combinations are always a winner.
Yummy sweet potatoes for your good health
Boiled, baked or braaied, sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are a delicious and healthy winter comfort food. Just a dollop of butter, a little seasoning and you are good to go.
Pretty and functional
If cooking is your main thing, you would probably be more interested in the culinary value of the three herbs and some of their varieties we are describing.
Dried Seedheads & Pods
Autumn and winter are the best times to see what flowers produce the best seedheads that can be left on the plants to feed the birds and bugs and for harvesting for dried arrangements.
SO MANY FACES and so many choices...
Whoever associated a Cotyledon orbiculata (pig's ear) with the ear of a pig obviously did not know about all the varieties and cultivars this species in the genus Cotyledon has.
COLOURFUL Cold Weather WINNERS!
If it comes to a vote, these dependable shrubs will be the top candidates for prime performance in winter and in other seasons...
What makes a garden sustainable?
It is interesting to note that the United Nations defines sustainable development as: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
Nurturing NATURE-The Story of Kraal Garden's Transformation
Nestled within Prince Albert's rustic embrace lies a gem that is a testament to the transformative power of human vision and nature's bounty.
