Ravaged by wild boar...

Those of you who follow our blog will know we have a trigger camera sited in the wildest area of the garden here at La Pasera. The area is deliberately left to its own devices apart from a quick cut of the wild flowers and grasses after the seed heads have dried. So far we have filmed: Badgers, Pine Martens, Fox, Weasel, Hedgehogs, Birds, Mice, Cats, Deer and Wild Boar. The latest films are the best to date of wild boar activity.

On waking up, the first thing we generally do is to check that the cats are around and then have a wander around the garden with them before breakfast. It's a good opportunity to see what needs attention and what crops can be harvested. As we approached the wild area Luis spotted a small patch of turf lifted next to a clump of wild orchids...a sure sign of wild boar activity.

Then we spotted the devastation. A large patch of meadow in the wild area had been systematically ravaged and decimated. It looked like a plough had been through it with deep troughs and mounds of turf. This was right in front of the night camera so a few good shots were to be expected.

What we saw was quite something. First a large male, working his way through the meadow looking for tasty treats such as worm and bulbs. He was then approached by a smaller female who joined him in his quest for snacks. A few minutes later another female joined in. I was surprised at the length of their snouts and the strength they must have to be able to upturn compacted meadow turf with such vigour.



In total, they worked this small patch of meadow for two and a half hours. As the camera triggers for a minute at a time then re-sets, I had an awful lot of one minute videos to watch. My favourite is this last one in which the male Sniffs the camera, looks at it, suddenly decides enough is enough, grunts and trots off followed by the females one of which turns and also looks at the camera.



Fortunately, there was little damage elsewhere in the garden with only a few vegetables trampled as they had walked through the vegetable plot to get to the wild area. Obviously they are not so keen on mange tout, onions, potatoes or kale... Well let's hope so. There are a few more videos on Youtube.

Making a bottle garden.

Many years ago I had a wonderful bottle garden that had been thriving for nearly a decade until it was watered almost daily by a house sitter who knew no better. Bottle gardens, of course, rarely need watering if ever and if the balance is right they sustain their own micro climate.

Recently I acquired a medium size bottle and decided to have a go at another bottle garden. It is about half the size of the Carboy I used to have but never-the-less it is big enough to work if I get the balance right. The beauty of this one is that it has a wide neck and therefore plants and soil are easy to place inside.

You need a good layer of drainage, here I am using old marble and granite chippings leftover from Luis' mosaic work. Charcoal is also required to keep the contents fresh. A good layer of bought potting compost is placed on top of the drainage and charcoal then the plants are added. Usually we would not buy potting compost but home-made is likely to be less sterile therefore causing an increased risk of bacteria or mould.

We chose two Pileas and a low growing evergreen we are not sure of (possibly a type of fern). Three plants is more than enough for this bottle garden. We have also incorporated a lovely piece of rock crystal we found locally. Watered sparingly and the lid secured, it shouldn't need watering again and if it steams up with condensation, the lid can be removed until clear then re-applied. Once it fills out a little it should look the part.

The bottle garden will sit on the bedroom balcony along with our small collection of orchids so that we can enjoy it as we sit and read in the morning sun. The next house plant project is to create another Bromeliad tree, similar to the one in the photo below. These were with me for many years until the excess watering incident and several house moves.