Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.

[SugarPlumTree]

Potting shed thread for those who enjoy talking about gardens and plants. Plenty of garden chairs and the wood burner lit now there is a chill in the air, please join us !

I am glad to hear you say that FP. I was hoping that would be the case and I think they are designed to shock you into working. Maths is worrying me though as a C is feeling a little elusive. Thank goodness she's ok with English as that's the one you have to have to get on a Level 3 course next year.

We have a humane mouse trap job (well we did until one ate it) and DH has to relocate them once he has dropped DS off in the morning. Kitchen sorted but I think they are in the garage loft space as I hear them when I'm working. What is the point in us having 3 cats ?!

I think I'll get a humane mouse trap (if such a thing exists here) Did you put chocolate in them SugarPlum ?

Rats do clear up a lot of detritus, left by humans , I think Maud.

Our cat has morphed into a good mouser only since the hot summer when she was out every night (obviously catching them in the garden).

I think humane is a relative term in this case . I guess there will be a significant level of stress for the mouse whilst in the trap and being relocated. Plus it said on the mouse thread they get disorientated away from their habitat and can die. But I figure we have tried . DH sets the trap with a dog biscuit and ginger biscuit which they seemed to enjoy.

Half the new slate patio is down Unfortunately, I leave in the dark and get home in the pitch black at the mo - but I think it looks nice! I keep picturing how good hot pink flowers (tulips? Dahlias?) are going to look against the grey/blue. Roll on springtime.

My cats have been v good at deterring mice & rats. I wish they were better at chasing away manky foxes.

YY hot pink against slate will work really well.

I was in Winchester today. Some French men were trying to flog me some amazing loppers that could cut through massive thick trunks, with hardly any effort at all. 'Ma cherie' quickly turned into indignant 'Madame' when I couldn't quite part with 110 quid for the loppers and other secatures thrown in. I possibly turned down a real bargain but Dh wouldn't have been pleased plus I would have lopped down all our Bay trees in the front garden.

Yes, slate makes a good backdrop for pretty much any colour of tulip, I find. Hot pink is good and so is orange.

I was kept awake by "something" in the attic last night, it sounded large for a mouse! Serves me right for defending rats eh!!! . I'm afraid it's 'gloves off' now ! we 're going to send our handy man into the attic with poison and sprays and traps AAAh

I can't work out what's happened to our relatively new insulation, do they eat it?

Ppeat, my mother bought a lovely painted plaster Christmas tree ornament from Harrods circa 1972, and was gutted a couple of months later to discover that rats had eaten it, so maybe they can eat insulation too.

I can still remember the cage containing captured Ratty being taken away. My mother mourned that ornament for a long time afterwards.

I hope you get your rat (or whatever it is) soon.

As well as any chocolate and biscuits left lying around, we have found that mice are very keen on wax candles, so I wouldn't be surprised if they liked insulation too.

We get mice from time to time, we use those plug in deterrents that emit a high pitched sound they don't like. They work really well.

Ah, do they, Geoff? I thought we had cracked our mouse problem, but yesterday found a bag of cookies that had been nibbled, so obviously not. I will investigate the ultrasonic gizmos. Do you need one in every room?

Yes Geoff I can 2nd the efficacy of the 'plug ins' we used them in London and they work (it takes a little time though). Yes you need one in every room maud and have to make sure that they're not behind large furniture.
We went to the local hardware store yesterday and as I thought there are no humane traps just all sizes of the cruel ones . So we bought a large pack of poison for the attic (it's almost impossible to get up there and there are no plugs in it).

Though because it 's not so cold the 'visitor' had disappeared before I put the poison up there Our helper didn't seem very keen and he's not coming till next Tues. so I had to do it. DH is useless. !!

I bought nice large screw top glass jars for the larder (for paper packs etc.). against the mice.

I was going to say it's the price of living in the country but we had worse in suburban Nth london .

I thought we were sorted on the mouse front but saw something suspicious this morning - though only half saw it amongst crumbs on the work surface so not sure.

I'm about to dig up the Yacon.

I just used them in the kitchen in my case they only ventured where there is food and I am really strict about not letting dc's eat any where else - they are the worst culprits for dropping crumbs.

It's amazing how good they are at climbing I did find a half eaten box of after eight on a very high book shelf, I have visions of them boinging up the wall recess in between the shelf like super Mario.

I don't think you can stop them Geoff (apart from the plug ins) we all make crumbs and have stores of food in cupboards. DH loves wrapping food in tin foil and I found a 'nest' like collection of little pieces of foil. I had cleaned the larder before we went away too.

I have been out planting alliums (purple rain & sensation) and cutting back verbena today. My friend leant me her v posh Joseph Bentley long handled bulb planting tool, which made planting so much easier.

The slate patio is not quite finished but looks beautiful - quite a light blue/grey colour. I am annoyed at the state of the garden. The builders mixed the cement directly in front the trampoline, so it's splattered in concrete, and trod through the lawn making it all muddy. They also laid bits of the shed down in the grass and I am getting twitchy about it getting damp and ruined before they put it back together again.

We had mice once eat an entire fake Christmas tree! When we got it out of the shed all that was left was the wire, all the greenery had been chomped off.

Wow! In our recent incursion, they have eaten soap, candles and the not carefully enough preserved sugar flowers off our wedding cake.

Blimey those little blighters a whole fake Christmas tree Blackpudding !!! I have sprayed a strong room spray around everywhere there may be ways in to the house, that does work BTW (I saw a mouse yesterday and grabbed the cat, she just turned away she's changing back into a cosy house cat).

And now to change the subject, how do you look after a hellebore 'christmas rose' ? I asked for cut flowers and dh gets me a potted plant that needs to be planted out!

I like rats. I like mice, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs and capybaras. Rats are just another variety of cute whiskery small mammal to me; I don't differentiate. We have them in the compost heap - they don't bother me and I don't bother them. If they were munching through my insulation it might be different though.

We get the occasional mouse in the house. The cats generally catch up with them sooner or later though. We used humane traps when I was a child because DF loathes anything rodenty, so DM and I would quietly relocate them. Then I would worry about them being ok.

No real progress on the showstopper bed. Bloody rain.

I went off mice when I worked in an old office, with a mouse and cockroach problem. I realised why people don't like mice when one died somewhere in my office, and the smell lasted three months.

Oh Maud thanks for mentioning the cost of garden design thread - blimey, I really need to charge more!

Ppeatfruit - I love the sound of a Christmas rose. What colour is yours? I don't have any hellebores... Yet. It's lovely to have things that flower in the depths of winter. My cyclamen are giving me much joy ATM.

We had to make a vital decision about where to place the step from the end of the garden slate terrace today. It has implications on what we're going to do with the path (straight or curved? Centre or to the right? Splitting the lawn or with a big bed to one side?) so I can't believe DH and I hadn't made up our mind until the builder was standing in front of me with the cement mixer on full tilt. I really wish I could afford 4k for someone to make up my mind for me [winks].

All this is a nice distraction from the job interviews I have tomorrow (transport company) and next Monday (govt dept). I've also just hit submit on another app (regulatory body). I didn't get the last one (TV company) but am fine with that as I'm on fire with the job hunting and hope something right is going to come up soon.

Wow, NANN, you're doing amazingly well in getting interviews. Fingers crossed for you.

We cheated when we had the slate patio installed, as we just covered the existing path. In an ideal world, I would have gone back to basics and redesigned the whole thing, but even that simple job brought me to my knees, so maybe it was just as well we went with the simpler option.

I saw you'd contributed to that thread, Rhubarb. Will you hike your prices now?

Yes good luck with the job hunting NANN I really enjoy my retirement when I remember doing that

Thanks for reminding me about the hellebore, it's white btw. and it's sitting outside atm, I looked them up and it sounds like it'll be happy under our pines just outside as long as I include them in my hydrangea watering regime .

Though it's thick fog atm and I'm meant to be collecting our christmas tree (driving in the fog here is absolutely hellish).

Rhubarb I don't mind the rodents as long as they're in their place, outside, providing sustenance for the owls .