See all the bits of tuber in the soil.... grrrr............this is what was left of my clematis. It had been lovely in previous years and it was really struggling so I did a bit of investigation and it's roots were completely destroyed by leatherjackets.....no not the ones you wear...... the little grey buggy ones..... they are the lavare of the cranefly or daddylonglegs. What a nuisance they are.........you don't know they are in the soil until the plant starts to die. Shortly after I had dug the clematis up my beautiful little friend turned up to help me clear them out....can you see the little beast in his mouth. Apparently there is not much I can do at this time of the year to get rid of them so now I am paranoid about my plants but other than go round digging them all up I will
just have to wait and see. The clematis although in a very sorry state
has been saved yipee................. I put it into a pot(after giving it a nice bath ) to get rid of any more unwanted visitors
from what was left of its roots and then it potted it in some nice
new compost and after a week it has a lovely 2" long green shoot on it.
I'm having a few days off this week (yes....thankyou) so I'm going to be in the garden and will bring you some more garden shots next week.
Now.....All bow down to the beautiful ROBIN REDBREAST.
Ahhhh! You managed to snap him really closely! Lovely little bird! Can't wait to see more of your photos . suzie xxx
ReplyDeleteUgh - so glad you saved your clematis! And yay for the robin!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely the gardeners best friend... I love them! My MIL thinks her brother has been reincarnated as a robin as one always follows her around the garden and if it helps her to deal with the passing (which was many years ago) of her beloved brother then so be it...
ReplyDeleteLeather jackets are yucky! and their grown up version even yuckier! I hate the way they seem to fly at you!
x Alex
I love robins they remind me of my Nan and Grandad! I have a little robin that visits my garden, I call him Grandad's little bird!
ReplyDeleteAren't robins great. Mind you my garden seems to attract the jackdaws aswell and they LOVE leather jackets so I don't get tooo much problem with them. If only I could find a bird that loves the Vine Weevil I'd be happy.
ReplyDeleteLove and hugs Gina xxx
I love Robin's they great wee birds. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Karen, Love the photo of the robin and happy to hear you saved the clematis.
ReplyDeleteI haven't ever dug up leatherjackets in my garden. I know my neighbour's lawn must have plenty, by the number of starlings that descend upon it. Robin's are always soon on the case when there's dug over soil. They are welcome friends in my garden too. I hope that clematis is still doing well. x
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