Outdoorsy Shite - April Top Trumps

[GrimmaTheNome]

Rules as before - nature 'spots' fauna and flora, points for rarity (absolute or relative to where seen), seasonality, eloquence of description. Please declare if you're in forrin parts or a mermaid.

Did I cover everything?

The really blood-boiling part is that at the start of every single path that I went along on my fortnight's holiday, be it from a road or a car park or whatever, had signs on posts explaining that it was a very important time for ground nesting birds so please keep all dogs on leads. Obviously, there are people who think those signs don't apply to them and their oh-so well behaved dogs. (And don't even get me started on 'oh it's ok, he wont hurt her' said by owners of massive bouncy dogs as my 3yo leaps into my arms screaming in terror as said uncontrolled dog races straight at her - that's a whole other AIBU thread.....)

And I was going to excitedly post that my Swallows were home, but I feel all deflated now

Back to cheerier matters - the flora is moving on. Today lots of white oxalis but we're getting to the pinks - masses of red campion, and some Herb Robert, and feral rhodedendrons starting to flower too.

There seems to be remarkable synchronicity in the arrival of ducklings. OK, we cheated today, WWT Martin Mere - there were dozens of them. There was a group which apparently was one duck's brood of 17 plus another family or two joined up with them. There must be some mechanism whereby they can lay over a period (just think of 17 duck eggs versus the size of a duck!) and then get them to develop and hatch together.

Anyway, DD had one standing on her boot, and I had to rescue one which was trying to escape from a little boy who wanted to stroke it and got stuck in a fence.

Plus lots of moorchicks, a coot with two chicks on a nest, a total of 5 Ne-ne goslings (4 in one brood seen from the canoe trail) and 5 blacknecked swan cygnets. I know the last two aren't native but they add to the joy of the season.

Wow, a whole load of chicks but none in these sticks....Grimma they all hatch at the same time because the bird won't incubate them till she's laid her full clutch of eggs. As soon as she starts to keeps them warm they start to develop. Birds of prey start to incubate straight away so thier eggs hatch out over a few days and their chicks are different ages. In my experience (of keeping far too many of the boody birds as a child) ducks lay loads of eggs because they are rubbish mothers and they lose most of their babies before they grow up :( Which is even more awful because they are so cute.

My spot of the day is loads of lovely little pincushions of thrift just coming out all over the cliffs. Some of them seemed to be growing out of bare rock inches from the high tide mark.

Our swallows haven't arrived yet. And our ducks (and most other birds) seem to still be at the mating stage so quite a long way from any chicks.

So sad about the capercaillie. Sounds like the sort of thing Bastarddog would do, which is why I am struggling to find places to walk him off lead at the moment.

It must be hard at this time of year if you've a dog who really needs offlead exercise. Ours is fine on lead anyway - we tend only to let him off on beaches or in stock-free woodland.

Chix - thanks, I thought it must be something like that.

A series of garden spots this morning. Flower stalks shooting up on some of my auriculas. Lilies of the valley absolutely on the brink of opening their buds. A particularly plumptious hedge of privet.

I want to plant things but
a) I only have a yard with pots
b) I am cluleless

I cannot go over to Gardening! I am too scared. Someone tell me what to plant

Flowery things or leafy things? Edible or decorative?

What to plant depends on where you live, so it can be quite a good idea to take a look around you at what seems to be really flourishing.

The first thing I'd plant would be herbs - all mine are in tubs because I don't want to cook with anything the dog might have wee'd on.

Most places its still too early to plant out non-frost hardy annuals, but if you're in a maritime climate you can probably plant anything. Perlagoniums are always good for colour anywhere, but in places which escape frost they can last years and be grown up a trellis.

I was reading about beetroot cultivation just now and one site mentioned that they do well near to the sea -- it even suggested sprinkling a little salt near to the plants to mimic near-coast conditions! So they might do well in your marine domain.

Derek Jarman was famous for his near-sea garden. Perhaps his plantlist would inspire.

I have at the moment parsley and rosemary and some kind of lemony smelling thing. In fact I savaged the rosemary with some shears back in the Autumn, because it was getting so spindly and woody, and now all that remains are a few dead looking twigs in a pot. I'm sure it will grow back

The nice flowery things I had last year were murdered by the two days of frost we had this winter. Can anyone suggest a very very easy tasty species of cherry tomato? Species? Is that the word? I have tried and tried and tried and tried sweetpeas, but the bastard slugs always eat them. Last year I tried drowning tham in beer with partial succes, though I do seem to have the world's first species of jumping slug in my otherwise devoid-of-all-animal-life yard. And colourful things. I want colourful things. Sunflowers in pots?

PS I am a mile or so inland and have a sunny yard. It's not really salt blasted, though I guess some comes floating inland when we have a southerly gale.

Perlagoniums? Have just googled. Are they...er....the same as geraniums?

Will stop cluster postering now.

Back to the wildlife! Sorry.

Nasturtiums are v v easy and colourful. Starve them in poor soil though or they won't flower much.

Sunflowers in pots?
oh yes, and then in autumn the little birds will come for the seedheads.

My rosemary is covered with flowers... I think you might need a new one!

My rosemary has been with me for years. It has survived three moves

Farewell rosemary.

Perlagoniums? Have just googled. Are they...er....the same as geraniums?
yes ...technically 'geraniums' are the perennial herbaceous ones.

Tumbling Tom (or something) are good for cherry tomatoes. I think they are the insane cluster ones you can grow in hanging baskets.

Also, runner beans are so easy and have beautiful flowers and a vigour that makes you feel smugly green-fingered. Runner beans themselves are gross, but the plants look gorgeous.

I like strawberries in pots as well. And courgettes.

Seconds Tumbling Toms. Have done them in hanging basket for last 2 years. They fruit later but keep going for ages. Can plant in with Pelargonium so basket colourful all summer.

Thank you. I will seek out some Tumbling Toms.

Erm - have I stumbled into the gardening topic?

Gardening for Morons. Sorry Exit - the Gardening Ladies scare me.

Any good spots today? None here so far apart from bloody annoying wood pigeon with its incessant cooo-coooooooooh-coo, cooo-cooooooooh-coo-ing