Yew out

Just about five months after potting out two dozen box plants (see reference 1), I have just got around to planting something over half of them out, behind the split chestnut fence, behind the new daffodil bed.

Not much visible growth in this time, either above ground or below ground, but hopefully the roots have repaired some of the damage caused by breaking up the clumps as bought into single plants in pots. Those from Poland, planted out front by a newcomer a few houses down the road, seem to be doing much better, although some of them have been nipped by the frost. I did not get to find out why it was so much cheaper to buy them from Poland rather than somewhere closer home.

The theory, not much supported by this lack of growth over the winter, was that box being a small leaved evergreen was good in the shade, like yew. It certainly manages quite well on the dry chalk of Box Hill, but that is not quite the same thing.

One of the fence posts was loose, that is to say rotted away at ground level, and several of the palings were loose, perhaps allowing foxes through. So I have shoved a handy bit of steel tube (picked up somewhere in or around Epsom & Ewell) in next to the post and strung a length of 2mm wire right along, about six inches above the ground, tying it into all three posts and some of the palings. Maybe that will keep the foxes off.

During the proceedings, I was joined by a very tame robin. Content to sit, for tens of seconds at a time, within a few feet, within say a yard or so of where I was. I also noticed that quite a few daffodil flower heads had been broken or bitten off, presumably some bird or other. Bit early for slugs. Either way, nothing to be done about it that I know of.

PS: later: maybe wood pigeons. One was on the bed at lunch time and they are just the right height to make short work of a daffodil flower bud.

Reference 1: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/buxus-sempervirens.html.

Reference 2: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/yew.html.