Big Fun with the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

Regular readers know how much I love birds. I love all the different colours of their feathers, the songs they sing, how they eat weed seeds (saving Mummy and Daddy from having to pick so many), and how they keep pest insects like aphids under control in the garden. So I’m super excited that the annual RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is happening this month.
A coal tit came to visit

A coal tit came to visit

What is the Big Garden Birdwatch?

The Big Garden Birdwatch is a survey of the birds you can see in your garden or nearest green space and has been running since 1979- that’s so old (almost as old as Mummy and Daddy). It helps brainy conservationists learn how healthy the countryside is and if the numbers of any bird types are dropping so we can give them extra help.

Did you know that gardens make up about 4% of the UK’s land and that birds come into our gardens for food and shelter when conditions in the countryside get really hard?

Starlings love the fat balls in our garden

Starlings love the fat balls in our garden

What do you need to do for the Big Garden Birdwatch?

This year’s Big Garden Birdwatch is happening on January 24th and 25th and is really, really easy to be part of:

A beautiful greenfinch in our garden

A beautiful greenfinch in our garden

What you might see in your garden

I recently reviewed the fabby RSPB book on how to identify the different birds you might see in your garden and how to make a trendy bird feeder to encourage them. But you don’t need to have that book as the Big Garden Birdwatch website has great pictures of each of the different birds you might expect to see in your garden.

The birds you might see will depend upon the food they can find in your garden and the type of feeder you use.

Blue tits, and Great tits like seeds in hanging feeders.

This common redpoll came for a visit

This common redpoll came for a visit

Blackbirds and wrens like their food to be scattered on the ground.

House sparrows and Bullfinches aren’t fussy and will eat food from any location.

The Big Garden Birdwatch website even has a super cool live bird counter that you can use on a computer or smartphone. It has hints and tips and lots of fun facts to learn whilst your doing your important work.

If you prefer furry or scaly creatures to birds then you’ll be happy to hear than you can also count the number of squirrels, hedgehogs, badgers, deer, grass snakes or slow worms.

A beautiful chaffinch

A beautiful chaffinch

In the run-up to the weekend there are loads of regional activities going on to help you encourage birds to your garden and to recognise the ones that come.

I’d love to hear what birds you see in the Big Garden Birdwatch.

Happy bird spotting!

Lulu xx

Perfect Potatoes with Twigz

Our lovely friends at Twigz have supplied us with some awesome gardening equipment which I have used ALL year. One of my favourite things to grow is potatoes. Here I tell you a little about what I have grown, how my Twigz tools have helped and also a crafty project if you have a left over potato…

Me getting stuck into the tattie harvesting with some help from Twigz

Me getting stuck into the tattie harvesting with some help from Twigz

Way back in March, I told you about 10 Easy Peasy Veg to Grow this year. Did you manage to grow any? One of the things I grew was potatoes, Maris Peer potatoes to be precise. They are really easy peasy to grow. You need to:

Twigz do a wonderful range of garden tools for children

Twigz do a wonderful range of garden tools for children

And how did my tools last the test of time. Well, as a feisty toddler, I certainly put them through their paces this spring, summer and autumn. They have been well used from planting and harvesting veg, weeding the flower beds and generally just being a great helper to M&D. There isn’t the slightest bit of wear on the tools, none have broken and they still look great. I would definitely recommend them to any budding (excuse the pun!) gardener out there.
Our trug full of lovely perfect potatoes

Our trug full of lovely perfect potatoes

So there you have it, easy peasy potatoes in one year. They store really well through winter too, just keep them in a hessian bag in a cool, dark spot. (The hessian bag is perfect for the sack race come Spring time too!)

If you don’t eat every single potato (which it is hard to resist, believe me!) then I like to do some potato stamping. Here’s what to do…

Potato Stamping

Potato stamping fun

Potato stamping fun

You will need:
1. Choose a medium or large potato.
2. Ask a grown up to cut it in half and to carve a pretty pattern into the cut edges.
3. Dip the pattern in paint.
4. Make a pretty picture!
We cut some cool shapes

We cut some cool shapes

 

Happy stamping!
Lulu xx

Daddy’s Day Tin Can Planters

Hey everyone. It’s Father’s Day this Sunday which means we all need to be extra nice to our lovely daddies. I think it’s nice to make something personal for Daddy’s Day so I have come up with a really cool project which you can easily personalise to your own Daddy. Or if you are strapped for time you can keep it plain and very simple. And it can cost absolutely no money too which is even better! Here’s my Tin Can Planters for Father’s Day…

Plain tin can planters look great too

Plain tin can planters look great too

 

Make Your Own Tin Can Planter

You will need:

To make:

1. Find a tin can which you like the size and shape of. I chose some different sizes to make a nice collection but one can look just as good. Ask a grown up to make sure its all nice and clean and that there are no sharp edges.

2. You will need drainage holes in your can so ask a grown up to turn it upside down and using the hammer and nail add a few holes to the bottom.

Be careful not to hit your fingers Auntie Alison!

Be careful not to hit your fingers Auntie Alison!

3. Now you can personalise your tin can with whatever you want. Some ideas include one of your own drawings, paintings or hand prints, a relevant piece from a magazine or newspaper or some nice wrapping paper.

4. Carefully measure your paper so that it wraps perfectly around your tin can with a little bit extra for gluing down.

5. Glue the edges of your paper so they stick well to the tin can.

6. Take your tin can outside and ask a grown up to spray it all over with spray varnish. This will waterproof the paper so the planter can sit outside and not be ruined. Remember to use gloves when spraying and always spray outside or in a very well ventilated area.

7. Once the varnish has dried you can fill your can with compost and plant your seeds or plants. We always have some lovely plants and seeds that are perfect for adding to a mini planter kicking around the garden or shed and you can easily divide some plants such as sempervivums to create new free plants! Herbs are a lovely addition or dwarf plants and cacti can look great too.

My decorated tin can planters

My decorated tin can planters

If you are struggling for time you can skip steps 3-6 and keep your tin cans with the plain metal finish which looks great. If you find teeny plants in pots (some garden centres sell them) you can skip the drainage holes and compost part too and just pop the pots straight into the tin cans. Remember they will rust if they go outside so they would be better kept on the windowsill with herbs or indoor plants. Or you could paint them bright colours or varnish them if you want to place them outside.

So, there you go, a Daddy’s Day tin can planter, a lovely memento for years to come.

Lulu xx

A big thank you to Apartment Therapy for the inspiration for this blog.

 

Make Your Own Easter Basket

Hey everybody. Easter is almost here so I decided to combine two of my favourite activities (gardening and doing crafty stuff of course!) and come up with a suitably eggs-citing project for my latest blog. So read on and find out how to make your very own Easter Basket for free!

My Easter twig basket

My Easter twig basket

 

Easter Twig Basket

You will need:

To make:
1. Collect some twigs. We found lots lying around the garden but there will probably be plenty shrubs being pruned you can steal some from too!
2. Select six strong twigs which can bend too and make a star shape with them and tie them in place.
I kept a close eye on Grandma as she made the star shape to make sure she got it right!

I kept a close eye on Grandma as she made
the star shape to make sure she got it right!

3. Weave your other twigs around the star to make the start of the basket.
4. As you weave more you will need to curve your original twigs (the star) up to make the basket shape.
5. Add your decorations.We added some nice pine needles for colour and scent!
6. Fill your finished basket with some pretty Easter eggs, chicks or of course chocolate!
I filled my basket with some pretty Easter eggs

I filled my basket with some pretty Easter eggs

Isn’t that a pretty way to give someone a gift this Easter?
For this and more fab projects get yourself a copy of 101 Things For Kids To Do Outside by Dawn Isaac.
The book is PACKED full of lots (well 101 to be precise) of awesome ideas

The book is PACKED full of lots
(well 101 to be precise) of awesome ideas

Happy Easter everyone!
Lulu xxx

Lulu & The Sunflowers

As I might have mentioned last week, IT’S MY BIRTHDAY! I am now a big, grown up two year old. I don’t know where the last year went. Mind you, at least I can read back on my blogs to see what I have been up to 😉 Anyway, M&D threw me a wonderful party at the weekend and my lovely friends came along to celebrate. At the end I gave them all a party bag which contained something very special indeed…some sunflower seeds! So, I have officially launched the “Lulu & The Sunflowers Competition”. We all have to plant the sunflower seeds and send in photos of us standing beside our sunflowers. The person who grows the tallest sunflower wins a prize, huzzah!

Now, as I am taking part in this competition too (no show without punch!) I don’t want to give away too many tips to the opposition. But, I am taking my chances ‘cos I know that you, my lovely readers, all want to hear my top ten secrets for growing sunflowers…

Is there anything as cheery as sunflowers on a sunny day?

Is there anything as cheery as sunflowers on a sunny day?

  1. You can plant your sunflower seed straight out where you plan to grow it. You need to wait until the last frost has passed though. Just dig over the soil and remove any weeds.
  2. If you don’t have anywhere in the garden to plant your seeds, don’t worry you can plant them in pots too, just make sure there is plenty space for the roots to grow.
  3. Sunflowers like lots of sun (isn’t that a coincidence Mummy?!) so choose your spot carefully.
  4. Dig a drill about 12mm deep
  5. Plant your seeds, leaving about 10cm between each one
  6. Cover your seeds with soil then water them gently. You will need to keep them well watered.
  7. As they grow, if they are too close together then thin out your sunflowers so they are 45cm apart, leaving the strongest seedlings.
  8. You may need to protect young seedlings from slugs and snails. If you cut the top off a plastic bottle you can use that to protect them.
  9. As your sunflower grows you will need to give it some support so add a cane and loosely tie the seedling to the cane.
  10. Sit back and watch your sunflower grow. And grow. And grow. And grow. And grow…

And remember, after your sunflowers have finished blooming, leave the flower heads so the birds can feast on the seeds.

I'm aiming high with my sunflowers!

I’m aiming high with my sunflowers!

I can’t wait to get started. I am soooooo going to win this competition! I’ll let you know later in the summer how everyone got on. Remember to send in pics of you with your sunflowers in the summer, I would love to see them.

Lulu

Leaf It To Me!

Autumn’s here hurrah! I love Autumn as I get to put on my cosy coat and winter boots and kick around all the leaves in the garden! There are lots of pretty colours in our garden just now whether it’s the leaves on the trees or plants such as Sedum coming into flower. Plus Autumn means exciting times like Hallowe’en and Bonfire Night. Now, as I mentioned, the leaves are falling thick and fast now so I thought I would share with you five things you can do with leaves in the garden as well as some pictures of common leaves for you to try and spot when you are out and about. I also have a very wonderful art project you can do with leaves…

Here are some leaves I found in the garden

Here are some leaves I found in the garde

Compost

Autumn leaves, especially those that have been chopped or shredded (use a shredder or your lawn mower to do this) are brilliant additions to the compost pile. Leaves are a great source of “brown,” high-carbon material for the compost.  Like with any item you add to the compost heap, it’s important to create layers and not have too much of one thing. Alternate the “brown” leaves with some “green” waste such as grass clippings, weeds, veg/fruit waste etc. Soon this will all break down and you will have some wonderful compost to add to your garden in the Spring.

Oak Leaf

Oak Leaf

Leaf Mould

Leaf mould may sound yucky but it’s a useful addition to the garden. Create a corner where you can pile up all your collected leaves. Then leave them (excuse the pun) for a year and you will have a wonderful addition to your garden. This can be used to bulk out and improve your compost but won’t have enough nutrients to be a complete replacement to your compost.

Ash leaves

Ash leaves

Mulch

Once shredded you can use the leaves to mulch your garden. Spread a layer (approx 5-7cm thick) of the shredded leaves around your borders, taking care to avoid contact with trunks/stems of plants. The mulch will help suppress weeds as well as keep moisture in the soil. As the leaves break down they will also add nutrients to the garden.

Beech leaves

Beech leaves

Mow them

If you don’t want to bother with raking your leaves up, tackle the ones on the lawn by mowing them. Set the mower to its highest setting then run the mower over them, leaving the mown leaves on the lawn’s surface so that they breakdown and add nutrients to the lawn over winter. Do this every week until the leaves have all gone.

Horse chestnut leaves

Horse chestnut leaves

Bag ‘Em Up

It’s useful to keep a couple of bags of the leaves you have collected and store them in your shed or garage over winter. Come Spring when you are adding more material to your compost heap you may struggle to find “brown” waste to alternate your layers. To save you having to rip up newspaper or shred cardboard you can just add a few handfuls of leaves at a time.

Rowan leaf

Rowan leaf

So there you go, even the common leaf can be super useful to the gardener and not just a nuisance to tidy. Another use I have for leaves is this wonderful art project:

Leaf Glitter Picture

Make your own glitter leaf tree

Make your own leaf glitter picture

You will need:

How to make:

1. Go on a hunt round the garden for some leaves. Look for lovely, dry, crispy leaves as they make the best glitter!

2. Now you get to scrunch the leaves into tiny pieces which is great fun! If the leaves aren’t dry enough this might not work and you will have to leave them in the basket overnight to dry more.

3. Using the glue draw a shape on the card. The shape can be whatever you want. I chose to draw a tree.

4. Sprinkle the leaf “glitter” onto the card.
5. Gently push the leaves down onto the glue so they are all stuck on.
6. Let your picture dry for a bit then shake off the excess leaves (you can keep them and use them in another picture if you want.) There you have it – a Leaf Glitter Picture!

I’d love to see the pictures you make. Please email photographs of them in to me.

For other fun leaf projects check out these blog:

Halloween Leaf Ghosts!

Make Your Own Leaf Art

I need to “leave” you for now but I’ll be back soon! (Hee hee)
Lulu

Thank you to Kiwicrate for the inspiration for this craft project

Save The Snail!

Most gardener’s don’t like snails but I have a confession to make. I, Lulu Ann Burt love them! There, I said it! ‘Nails (as I call them) are funny creatures and I love hunting for them in the garden. I say Save The Snail! Trouble is they love eating the scrummy plants in the garden as much as we do! It’s important to try and help look after our prized plants so here are a few of my top tips on being snail-savvy in the garden as well as a brilliant project to make your own snail which won’t eat any of your prized hostas!

 Me and my friend the 'Nail

Me and my friend the ‘Nail

 

As I love snails very much and as M&D feel very strongly about being organic we don’t recommend putting down slug and snail pellets in the garden. These can be eaten by other animals or even children and can be very dangerous (as well as not very nice way to treat my friend the snail!) Here are some better ways to deal with them…

Ooh ooh, ouch!

Snails hate to crawl over anything scratchy so putting a ring of something like crushed egg shells or grit around the plants they most like to eat helps deter them. Watch out for any foliage that falls into the ring as that can be used as a bridge by the canny creatures.

Ring a ring of hostas

If you have your prized plants in pots which the snails are attacking, try putting a copper ring around the pot – the snails won’t want to crawl over it and your plants stay safe.

Snail hunting!

This is my favourite method – snail hunting! Swap your spade for a torch and get out at dusk and collect the pests yourselves. You will be amazed at how many of the wee beasties you will find!

Head out and do some snail hunting at dusk

Head out and do some snail hunting at dusk

Pull on the (fox)gloves

Sometimes you need to box clever and choose plants which snails wouldn’t have at their beastly banquet. Choose plants with scented leaves such as alliums, fennel and rosemary, plants with textured leaves such as lambs ears and lavender or plants such as ferns, foxgloves and camellias. All beautiful but relatively safe from unwanted intruders.

Cheers

A method well known in the gardening world is setting beer traps for snails. If your grown-up can spare some of their well earned bottle at the end of a day’s hard graft in the garden, ask them to sink a rinsed out empty can with some beer in it, into the ground. Snails are attracted to the smell and fall in the can and can’t get back out making it easy for you to dispose of them.

Nematodes

Some gardeners turn to a biological solution in the fight against snails. A naturally occurring nematode (a tiny worm) can be introduced into the gardener by adding it to a watering can. They contain bacteria which attacks and kills snails. It lasts for about six weeks and doesn’t affect anything else in the garden. Despite the name no toads are used in this method!

Nema-toads

As you can see there are lots of ways of tackling snails but I think one of the best ways is to attract beneficial wildlife that feasts on snails. If you have space for a wildlife pond you can attract frogs and toads which love a slug supper. Creating a log pile or leaving a corner of old leaves may mean a hedgehog sets up home in your garden and it will repay you by eating up these foe. Or make a bug hotel or encourage birds into the garden to help you in your efforts.

Other simple measures such as weeding regularly so snails have less places to hide, digging over your borders to expose snails and allow birds to eat them and lifting pots regularly to see what’s hiding below can all help. And are organic too!

So, now you know how to keep snails out of your garden why not bring one into the house instead with this wonderful craft idea:

Make A Paper Plate Snail

Make A Paper Plate Snail

Make A Paper Plate Snail (Image courtesy of Kiwi Co)

You will need:

To make:

1. Draw this shape on the paper plate:

2. Cut off the top part of your paper plate to make the snail shape:

3. Use your coloured paper or stickers to stick shapes around the shell. Make your snail as funky and colourful as you wish. I liked learning about the different colours and shapes we were using as we did it

4. Finally paint the body, stick on (or draw on) your eyes and if you wish, add some pipe cleaners to make the feelers. And there you have it – a paper plate snail! All the fun but your hostas will stay safe 😉

You can make themed snails too if you wish. Grandma and I made a lovely festive snail for Christmas!

Remember to email me photos of your snail creations or if there are other garden animals you would like to learn about and see a craft project on then let me know!

For more tips on garden pests visit our blog:

Vialii Guide To Top Garden Pests And Diseases

Lulu

Thank you to Kiwicrate for the inspiration for this craft project

The Bees Knees

Hi, it’s me, Lulu, The Secret Blogger again! So, the bees knees. What a funny saying. I mean, do bees even have knees? And if so, why are they so good? Anyway, knees or not, bees are very good things. And not just because I can say the word “bee” very well plus I can do a good impression of a buzzy bee! We need bees for lots of reasons…

Bees on eryngium

Bees on eryngium

Why Bees Are Important

Bees pollinate a wide range of crops, vegetables, fruits and plants

It’s important we encourage bees into our garden. There are lots more plants that bees like and M&D have listed their top ten favourites here. If we all plant a few of these in our gardens it will make a huge difference and that will be the “bees knees” 😉
Echinacea is popular with bees

Echinacea is popular with bees

 

To celebrate the humble bumble why don’t you ask your mummy and daddy to help you make your own bumble bee? I love this project as it’s suitable for kids of all ages:

Fingerprint Bumblebees

You will need:
How to make your bumble bee:
Make a bumble bee from finger prints

Make a bumble bee from finger prints

 

So, even when you are indoors you can have your very own cheery bumble bee! Thanks to the crafty people at DLTK for this idea.

I will leave the last word to a man called Albert Einstein. He was very clever, just like my Mummy.
 
“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.”
Lulu
 
1. I have a lot of friends who like their food a LOT and they wouldn’t be happy if there wasn’t enough to go round. Mentioning no names. Euan 😉