[Help] Gardeners Question Time.

[vegster]

The silvery ones are the males and the females are usually a bit browner. I have had a very silver one, a black one and a fair few dark brown. I think the coppery ones are a few years old (note they can live 20 years if lucky) but there are all sorts of patterning/colours due to local variations.

View attachment 144746 there is a newt just hiding next to the brown one

I did find 3 just born slowworms in the garden one summer, they were in a line in the grass edging at the bottom of a sunny wall about a foot a part. I was checking the edges before strimming.....These are a gold colour


View attachment 144747 the female is pregnant so they young one is from at least the previous year. these two were next to the 4 or 5 in the original picture

I assume you must live over Shoreham beach way for the wall lizards ( let me know if not) as that is teh only place I have seen them... Its strange I had some as a kid in the 60's as you could buy them then. They were outside getting some sun and they jumped out of the tank to my astonishment and disappeared.

View attachment 144744

Used to be loads of common lizards in Woodingdean but very few there now as their habitat was bulldozed and built on..

View attachment 144745

I live in Worthing and my allotment is in West Worthing, the lizards arrived about 20 years ago and slowly have increased in numbers and their activity has slowly increased as their tolerance to our cooler temperatures has improved. They now seem active for nine months of the year whereas they seemed to be only active during summer previously.

 

[Wardy's twin]

I live in Worthing and my allotment is in West Worthing, the lizards arrived about 20 years ago and slowly have increased in numbers and their activity has slowly increased as their tolerance to our cooler temperatures has improved. They now seem active for nine months of the year whereas they seemed to be only active during summer previously.

That's really interesting so I wonder if have they have spread from the Shoreham beach community or is it a separate development. Do you have any pics ? Are they definitely wall lizards and not sand lizards which are native? can you PM me a rough location as i might take a look one day.

Maybe its global warming... I saw someone had posted a pic of a common lizard sunbathing the other day its been that warm. I have had newts in the pond since early January and the frogs are already frisky...

 

[Weststander]

Really pleased with my first ever tulips, Apricot Impression:



The rear lawn’s looking not to shabby:



The fence was my work too. It’s actually the neighbour’s, but they were too tight to replace a collapsing structure.

 

[Jack Straw]

Really pleased with my first ever tulips, Apricot Impression:

View attachment 146323

The rear lawn’s looking not to shabby:

View attachment 146324

The fence was my work too. It’s actually the neighbour’s, but they were too tight to replace a collapsing structure.

Nice job of the close-board fencing. Not easy.

 

[Weststander]

Nice job of the close-board fencing. Not easy.

I'm just a pen-pusher by day, so I was relieved to make no faux pas.

It was a 125' run, I had practice in doing the other boundary 4 years ago.

The hard work was digging out random old concrete footings, also sawing through huge green-wood buttress roots to trees. [I knew the trick about making a slightly different run of posts to avoid old footings, but there were so many from 80 years worth of fencing projects]. Not being my day job, for my sins, I enjoy garden and landscaping projects.

 

[vegster]

That's really interesting so I wonder if have they have spread from the Shoreham beach community or is it a separate development. Do you have any pics ? Are they definitely wall lizards and not sand lizards which are native? can you PM me a rough location as i might take a look one day.

Maybe its global warming... I saw someone had posted a pic of a common lizard sunbathing the other day its been that warm. I have had newts in the pond since early January and the frogs are already frisky...

Sorry, I must have missed this reply last month, yes happy to take some photo's and post them here. Was up plot this morning and had all sizes running around some very stubby ones minus their tails !

 

[Stat Brother]

A timely appearance of this thread.

Guess who else reappeared today



CHRIS

Clearly it's taken him a couple of months to find me, after the move.
(Time he seems to have spent in the gym - Chris is looking well hench)

Anyhoo it's nice to have the family back under one roof.

 

[Wardy's twin]

Sorry, I must have missed this reply last month, yes happy to take some photo's and post them here. Was up plot this morning and had all sizes running around some very stubby ones minus their tails !

Thanks lizards are one of my favourites...used to have lots of common lizards...

 

[Jack Straw]

A timely appearance of this thread.

Guess who else reappeared today

View attachment 146329

CHRIS

Clearly it's taken him a couple of months to find me, after the move.
(Time he seems to have spent in the gym - Chris is looking well hench)

Anyhoo it's nice to have the family back under one roof.

That's the best news I've had this week. I can't tell you how pleased and relieved I am, to know Chris is back home. Thanks for sharing.

 

[WATFORD zero]

A timely appearance of this thread.

Guess who else reappeared today

View attachment 146329

CHRIS

Clearly it's taken him a couple of months to find me, after the move.
(Time he seems to have spent in the gym - Chris is looking well hench)

Anyhoo it's nice to have the family back under one roof.

Yellow, YELLOW, YELLOW

This year's first poppy will be yellow, I'd stake my house on it

 

[Stat Brother]

Yellow, YELLOW, YELLOW

This year's first poppy will be yellow, I'd stake my house on it

No poppies this year.
I've only spent one day (this Tuesday) ripping the poop out of the back garden, but don't intent to get back there for a few more weeks.

It was in a very bad way, the wild garlic is insane.

 

[vegster]

Thanks lizards are one of my favourites...used to have lots of common lizards...

These are from today, the little sods don't let you get close easily...

 

[Wardy's twin]

well it looks like the colony is a mixed one as first two are common lizards the other two are definitely wall lizards ... any slow worms out yet? Mine have not appeared in my compost pile ....

 

[vegster]

well it looks like the colony is a mixed one as first two are common lizards the other two are definitely wall lizards ... any slow worms out yet? Mine have not appeared in my compost pile ....

Ah, but they pretty much all look the same, these were shots from a polytunnel and a lean-to greenhouse so the light was different and I had the camera on my phone on maximum zoom as I can't get close to the little sods !

 

[vegster]

Not seen Slow Worms yet, i have been digging out my compost heap and so it has been left uncovered... if I cover it I would expect Slow Worms as there is a healthy local population.... Interestingly, you notice colour differences in Slow Worms here, the older ones are more silvery while the quite young and smallish ones are more copper coloured with a black stripe down their backs.

 

[Wardy's twin]

These are from today, the little sods don't let you get close easily...View attachment 146361View attachment 146362View attachment 146363View attachment 146364

roughly speaking where is this ?

 

[vegster]

roughly speaking where is this ?

West Tarring allotments , just north of the railway line of West Worthing Social Club, or, the other side, the corner or Princess Avenue and Canterbury Road on Google maps.

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

Can I call on the NSC hive mind to answer a tree question?

This poor thing has been feeble for the first three years we were here. I moved another tree that was crowding it two years ago and also cut out diseased stems and branches. This year the love seems to be paying off. It didn't flower like mad, but it did flower all over and is now going to leaf. Could be a cherry maybe? Anyone know? I beleive the configuration of the flowers is a clue - but don't know my trees well enough to say.

 

[Stat Brother]

You probably should have cut that one down too, then replaced them both with some beautiful concrete.
Bish bosh - job done - everybody happy.





Bloody Chris yesterday.

Popped in through the open backdoor.
A couple of laps round the lounge.
Then flew straight out the lounge window.

Just using my house as a freakin short cut.

Cheeky b*****d.

 

[Jack Straw]

Can I call on the NSC hive mind to answer a tree question?

This poor thing has been feeble for the first three years we were here. I moved another tree that was crowding it two years ago and also cut out diseased stems and branches. This year the love seems to be paying off. It didn't flower like mad, but it did flower all over and is now going to leaf. Could be a cherry maybe? Anyone know? I beleive the configuration of the flowers is a clue - but don't know my trees well enough to say.

View attachment 146457

View attachment 146458

View attachment 146459

I'm going Prunus avium (Wild Cherry).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_avium