The month of April has been a strange month, some days we seem to have had all four seasons in one day. We have had lots of lovely sunshine, but also lots of frost, hail and sleet. We have had gales which have ripped off the lovely new foliage which has just emerged and flattened some of the flowers. Temperatures have been low for this time of year, even though the sun has been shining, the strong wind coming straight down from the Arctic has made it bitterly cold. In spite of all this, the garden has coped very well.
The clear cold evenings have given us some wonderful sunsets.
I must remember all these different colours….
…..for when I get more plants for my Sunset border.
Last year I bought 6 Dwarf bearded iris to go on the scree, the first 2 have started flowering.
I bought them from Cayeux Iris. The white gravel chips aren’t the best background for this one!
The beard on this one starts out blue…
…but ends up white.
Who do you think would like to live in a little house like this?
A little Dormouse, that’s who! I saw this at our local garden centre and couldn’t resist it.
You may have noticed that the front of the box doesn’t have an entrance hole, the hole is round the back, so I hope the dormouse has read the instructions.
All we had to do yesterday was find a convenient tree where we could fix the box. This chestnut tree is just across the ditch from where I found the hibernating dormouse.
All fixed in place now. It looks very obvious at the moment, but I’m sure it will soon tone down and end up just like the tree trunk. I hope a little creature appreciates the fact that it now has 5 little houses to chose from!
…..and talking of mice….
While I was clearing the bed where I found the dormouse, I also found a plant of Arisarum proboscideum, the Mouse plant.
The flowers are only small and held lower than the foliage so you have to go looking for them at this time of year.
That is the end of my mixed bag for April, the weather is supposed to warm up this weekend, but I can’t say I’ve noticed it yet. I must get on with more clearing and weeding, but the trouble is, where I first weeded and tidied now needs doing again!!
Happy gardening!
Loved the dormouse box Pauline (and the irises, of course). Do you think it might protect them from hunting cats?
Thanks Cathy, I don’t think cats will know that the dormouse is in the box, the instructions tell you to fix it about 5 or 6ft off the ground, so it should be nice and safe. Dormice rarely come down to the ground, except for when they are hibernating, this is why hedges and trees are so important to form their highways up off the ground. When hedges are taken out, dormice vanish from areas, their habitat is so important and that is why they are protected by so many laws.
What a brilliant idea having a hidden door round the back. Should keep out most predators. I love the iris.
I just hope the Dormouse has read the instructions Hayley and knows to go round the back! I don’t think any predators will bother it, it will be nice and safe, thank goodness.
I love the dormouse box. It looks perfect. Seeing it has made me wonder whether I should put one up here. There are boxes in the local reserves for dormice so perhaps they would find mine, too.
I agree about all seasons at once this April. It’s time for it to warm up now!
The irises are beautiful.
Do put a box up Wendy, I think you have lots of hedges, which is what they need as their highway for travelling from one place to another. They use the boxes to sleep in during the day but it amazes me that they make nests out of grass, beautifully woven, down on the ground, for hibernating. You would think they would use the boxes for hibernating too. In 25yrs we have seen 4 dormice and found 3 hibernating nests, so they manage to hide most of the time! Do let us know if you see any.
Definitely time for some warmer weather!
Beautiful iris Pauline. Hope dormice appreciate your hospitality.
Thanks Susie, I felt the scree was the ideal place for these tiny iris, perfect drainage for them and they wouldn’t be swamped by larger plants. Another burgundy iris has opened up this morning with yellow beards, just 3 more to wait for now.
I’m sure the dormouse will enjoy its new home, a very desirable residence all ready for a tenant! The leaflet with it says that Dormice have 2 litters a year, you would think that we’d be overrun with them, instead we hardly ever see them.
What a cute little dormouse box, I hope he finds it. Your Irises are very pretty. I grow that little mouse plant too, love it. Some say it spreads uncontrollably, but I haven’t had that problem.
I hope too that the new little home will soon have a new resident Alison, it’s quite a bit nicer than the other boxes I’ve put up for it.
I planted the mouse plant about 20 yrs ago, lost sight of it when the old hedge grew over it and now it is about 2ftx 2ft. If it gets any bigger, I will have to deal with it!
Hi Pauline,
I love your doormouse house! what a great idea….maybe “she” will have a family in there…..
Your Irises made me drool! They are beautiful….I need to invest in some dwarfs. They bring a real brightness to the garden when it can use some.
It seems like the whole world is having crazy weather….Let’s hope this is the end of it and spring will stay put.
I would love there to be a family of Dormice Sally, but probably wouldn’t see them as they are nocturnal and stay up in the trees.
I’m really pleased with the dwarf iris, they are just the right size for the scree that I have, bringing a nice splash of colour.
We have been told that temperatures will rise this week with our wind changing from the Arctic to Africa, we’ll have to wait and see if they’re right!
I was so pleased to read that you have weeds again where you had previously weeded. It’s just I was out weeding yesterday and wondered how I could have missed so many weeds! The dwarf iris are gorgeous and I love the doormouse house. I must look into the dormouse situation here in Sweden!
Weeds seem to grow again as soon as our backs are turned Denise, it’s a never ending job!
I’ve looked on Wikipedia for the Hazel Dormouse which is the one that we have in Southern England and it also lives in the southern tip of Sweden. They are mammals of woodland and hedges as they spend most of their waking hours up in the trees and shrubs, off the ground where they would be in danger from foxes, stoats, cats etc.
What a pity it’s only in the southern most part of Sweden as we are further North in ‘central’ Sweden. No rabbits here either, only hares!
You are so lucky not having rabbits, when they were in the garden here they ate everything with the most expensive price tag!
What an up market abode you have provided for your doormouse. the dwarf Iris are lovely, I hope yours last longer than mine! Mine came from Cayeux too.
It is rather lovely Isn’t it Christina, I hope it appreciates it! Since buying my dwarf Iris, I’ve found quite a few Iris nurseries in this country, maybe in future I should be patriotic and buy British!
I love your little irises. I have bought from Cayeux before. Isn’ t their catalogue gorgeous? What pampered little dormice you have in your garden provided with such luxurious housing. I shan’ t be providing nice houses for the mice in my greenhouse who have chewed off all my sweet peas and broad beans. But then they don’ t have cute tails either.
The catalogue is so tempting Chloris, I have to be very strict with myself! I can well understand why you don’t want to provide housing for your naughty mice, I think I have one of their relatives in my greenhouse too!
It has cetainly been a mixed bag of weather for April, lets hope May is a bit more settled. Those Irises are really beautiful and what a lovely home for your dormice, fingers crossed they find it and take up your abode.
The temperatures this week have been so much better Annie, what a difference it has made having nice warm sunshine all week.
We are hoping that the dormouse manages to find the new box and uses it some of the time while sleeping during the day, this is assuming that it has woken up from its long sleep over the winter!
The Mouse plant is amazing, just the type of quirky plant I love. I hope your little dormouse settles in and enjoys the new home you have provided. Also, the irises are lovely!
It is a strange plant Deb, with the flowers so low down that you can’t see them without parting the leaves, I wonder how the flowers get pollinated?
More tiny iris are flowering each day and more buds developing, all the little plants are doing well.
Your irises are really pretty Pauline. And I love the idea of a dormouse box! We haven’t seen or heard any near the house this year (yet) but it is still early days. As long as they don’t come in the house again! It was very cold here too until two days ago… summer seems a bit nearer now. 🙂
Thanks Cathy, the little iris are so pretty and more are opening up, a yellow one is now the latest one to open. I’m assuming your dormice are the larger edible variety, ours wouldn’t come anywhere near the houses, they live in the trees and hedges and hardly ever come down to the ground.
We have had such lovely warm weather this week, the temperature has risen quite a lot and it has made such a difference!
Your dormice should consider themselves quite priveleged. And I never heard of Mouse Plant, what a botanical oddity. Very lovely irises, though.
They are privileged aren’t they Jason, they now have 5 houses to choose from, but the latest is definitely the best!
I bought the little mouse plant when our grandsons were little, I thought it would amuse them, it did for a couple of years!
What a lovely post, as you say the weeds will keep us busy until the ground is covered with flowers of our own choosing. A ‘sunset’ border is a wonderful idea, I shall look out for what you’re adding to it with interest.
The weeds have gone mad this last week Kate, with all the warm weather we are having, coming after all the rain the previous week!
The sunset border is coming on nicely, after seeing my photos of the wonderful sunsets that we have had lately I have decided that red, pink, orange, yellow, blue and purple flowers will all be acceptable as those colours are all in the photos.
What gorgeous sunsets – we can’t see them from our house or garden but we are at my Mum’s now and hoping for some glorious ones over the sea! You are just going to have to trust the dormouse finds this vacant property 😉
When I sit and watch TV in the evening, one of the windows opposite my chair is where the sun sets at the moment. I quite often zoom upstairs to take my photos, have to be quick as they don’t last long. I’m sure you will see some stunning ones where you are at the moment.
Maybe I ought to put up a “To Let” sign on the dormouse box?
Oh I hope that the doormouse has found hiss/her way in to what looks like a cosy snug. Your post has reminded me that I have a mouse plant in a pot somewhere. Must look for it!
I hope so too Anna, although it now has 5 little boxes to choose from! Hope you find your mouse plant!