Green Mole Garden

On Sunday we opened our garden to the public within the Bookham Open Garden days and it was a very successful day.  About 250 people walked trough our fairly small patch during the day and we had so many positive comments about what we were trying to do that we felt all the efforts were well worth it.

The write-up on the garden (about wildlife, savings water, organic treatments, introducing edible plants, flowers for the bees, ornaments and composting) was very well received and people gave me lots of tips, some of which I shall definitely try out in future.

I had heard about the properties of Comfrey (you macerate the leaves and they provide both an insecticide and a fertilizer) before, my mum used to use nettles to the same effect.

The other interesting tips were the slug repellents (copper bands apparently do work very well, ground coffee, but also most interestingly garlic spray – the Lady had picked that one up at the Chelsea Flower show and now her Hostas are doing fantastically). Now being French I probably had my first dose of garlic via breast milk, I love the stuff and I also know how many medicinal properties it has.

So apparently you crush garlic, boil it and then use the water – diluted but I don’t know in how many parts – as a spray that repels the slugs.  Might not work with French slugs but apparently it works a treat over here.

One Lady has resolved the beer problem (our hubbys generally don’t like it when we pinch their beer and give it to the slugs to make theirs a happy demise) by sending her hub to the pub with an empty milk bottle.  The nice bar tender lets him have the dregs at the end of the evening…

Also a big thank you to those who helped and to those who offered. We raised nearly £100 for the Bookham Community Association.

Happy Green Gardening!

Esther