planting with wildlife in mind

So. This solanum thing.
Thorns AND flowers.
Now THAT, I like.
Is it easy to grow ?
How tall does it grow ?
Wouldn't want many, just one, or two maybe.
Ought to be able to squeeze one in somewhere.
Perennial ?

And by the way, I have no desire to harm cats.

 

My approach to cats is just to try and frustrate their stalking behaviour. For example, if you have a area of shrubbery where they might lurk out of sight, leading onto a lawn where the birds forage, I would put some low decorative fencing around the shrubbery. I have the cheap metal stuff that you just push into the ground, and it works for me. They could get past it if they really wanted to, but cats tend to like to jump on things and off again which the design doesn't allow, and whatever they try is going to seriously interrupt their attack run and get spotted by the birds.

To frustrate their pooping behaviour I just plant as densely as I can, and stick in canes to fill areas of bare soil. If they can't squeeze their pooey little bums in and turn around, they'll try somewhere else. Probably the middle of your lawn, in my experience.

 

I don't know but I don't believe so. They are boys and still young. They are really stunning stunning cats, sleek tabbies with spotting. We told her that they might calm down as they age but that doesn't make things fun for the moment.

She is one of those people that would never mention it for fear of offending anyone. She openly tells us but would never talk to the owners about it. The stench of poo is horrendous as our garden is next to it and we can smell it.
Our next door neighbours cats, the nice ones, don't use an indoor litter tray either but don't poo in our garden because they see it as their territory. It also means they mostly keep the other cats out.

She does have a hand held super soaker and I think she's a good aim.



Even as a cat lover I'm pretty pee'd at them this morning as I found one of the new fledged blackbirds killed this morning. I don't know who did it but we have about 20 cats (15 on our small road) I know of in the area.

 

I've just had a look around the garden to see what's what after yesterday's deluge.
Wild marjoram in flower all over the shop. Alive with butterflies and bees. It looks a bit unruly but so what? More interesting than the crispy plants last week.

 

Concerns about my holly bushes.
Well, I say bushes, trees more like.
Just single stem plants with prickly leaves .I planted a few in the back garden last year and early this year and they seem to be thriving, but they're in a completely different setting to those at the front of the house. They are in a shaded area whereas the holly plants in the front garden get the sun full on for most of the day.
We are experiencing something of a heatwave right now with the temps almost hitting 30C and the plants seem to be wilting.
I've been watering them regularly . Am I over-watering ? What do I know ?

I put in a few gorse bushes yesterday and I'm not sure how I should be watering them.

As with the holly, I dug a hole for the root-base bought in plant-pots , put in a shallow layer of compost, lightly sprinkled with bone-meal and gave them a good watering.
Was THAT a mistake ?
Not sure that gorse likes damp soil.
Again, what do I know ?

 

It's not a great time to plant anything woody unless you're in a cooler, damper part of the country.
It would be hard to overwater if you aren't getting regular, decent rainfall. The important thing is to water properly - a canful for each plant, right in at the base. Then leave for a couple of days and repeat. It'll be autumn before they settle in and have good roots established.
If the gorse has well draining soil it'll be fine.
It also depends on the size of the plants. Larger ones will really struggle simply because they can't support the top growth, no matter how much you water. You can cut them back a bit to make it easier for the roots to do that.

 

I bought the gorse plants online, in pots, and they're about 40/50 cms tall.
Shall give them a good watering every three days then and hope for the best.
The very fact that I'm doing this doesn't bode well for them.
Just have to try it and see.


Thank you for your response.

 

I'm still not sure how you're using the gorse and holly in relation to the space you want for other plants, but I'm afraid it won't keep cats out.
However, watering thoroughly and then leaving for a few days and repeating for the summer months [unless you have proper, sustained rainfall] is the way to go. If it's very hot, doing it early in the morning or later at night is better. Those should be ok size wise as long as the watering is sufficient. The hollies will take a few years to mature enough to look decent, but that's normal for any woody shrub/tree if it's a youngster- and those sound like very young whips you've got. If the conditions are good for them, they'll fill out well over time.

I'm assuming the soil itself was in decent condition when you planted the hollies as well, and none of them were pot/root bound or anything, as the prep is by far the most important part of the whole process, and skimping on that can be counter productive, especially when planting at this time of year.
I hope they do well for you

 

Thanks fairygirl.
With regards to my plans for planting.
It IS very narrow strip of ground.
My plan , while remaining fluid, would be to have a thin border of holly and gorse about two feet high.
A short inner border made up of a berry producing type hedge that, at it's base, is a tangled inpenetrable mass.
So hopefully, as they holly and gorse thicken out, and the cats not able to walk on the inner hedge, that piece of ground will become undesirable to cats.

One can dream.

Might even consider a short perimeter trellis fence with a spikey top. I really am serious about this.
Whatever plants grow within those borders can then just run wild.

 

@CostasK you can actually train a cat to go for a walk on a lead for it's daily exercise. It doesn't have to be confined indoors 24/7. If the owner doesn't have the time for that, then making their own garden escape proof so their cat can be outside is a far better solution than expecting neighbouring property owners to cat proof their gardens. No denying that cats can make lovely pets but that is exactly what they are -like any other pet, the owner is responsible for it's safety, wellbeing and ensuring it doesn't cause problems elsewhere.
@Ditherer if you decide to go for a trellis with a spiky top I believe you can purchase a Carpet Gripper - a thin slat of wood with upturned nails inserted along the length. Good luck with your endeavours

 

I think it might have been New Zealand that brought it in first but in Australia they have a law that cats must be contained and not allowed to run free. They coined the term "catio" for the caged structure many built for them. I don't ever see such a law being introduced here.

I now feral cats are a massive problem in Australia and they drop baited food, to kill them.

You can get bird deterrants for fences, they are plastic spikes rather than nails. I don't know how hot the coppers are in your area but around here we aren't allowed to use nails as a deterrant in case someone hurts themselves. They also get funny if you use any spike offcuts that aren't still living.

 

Having been a cat owner in a city I disagree. True, a cat will learn to accept the harness and the lead (and will most likely enjoy the drama it creates at harness dressing point), but a cat will certainly not take outings for excercise.

More likely, the cat will walk neatly to the nearest suitable fence post, climb up and stay there for an hour.

The owner will stand there, by someone's fence post, holding the lead, looking and feeling like an idiot.

 

Top 6 mtrs or so, of my back garden has a 6 foot fence, sides and top. Used to have climbing up and over to and from my side.
I got some old picket fencing about 3 and a half feet high, ran it parallel with the boundary fence and laid a spikey plastic cat deterrent along the top of it.
I should describe said "cat deterrent".
It's a black plastic , about one inch mesh, with a plastic spike at the corner of every one inch square.
It's legal, at least I assume it is, bought online, from one of those cheap gimmicky catalogues that get sent out inside newspapers in England.
They don't jump up and over that fence any more.
Once or twice I found it looking as though someone had tried to pull it of in a couple of places, I imagine that a cat had jumped up at time and put it's paws on those spikes.
Job done I think.

 

I am sorry @Philippa but - while I sumpathise with the issue - I don't think that is fully realistic.

There are some cat breeds which can take a bit more training, usually the ones which are referred to as having a dog-like behaviour e.g. Maine Coon. That's not accurate for most cats.

Many years ago, I had a ginger cat and I tried really hard to train him while he was a kitten, for months. I was so persistent and strict. I had to stop when I realised that my regime was bordering on animal abuse, when I looked into his eyes one time after I told him off particularly badly and saw genuine fear. He thought I was genuinely going to hurt him... I realised right then that this wasn't worth it and instead I put my effort into making the environment as helpful as possible for avoiding issues, instead of working against the very nature of the animal. That's not a perfect solution of course. No matter what you do, there will be occasions where the cat will get out.

As for walking him on a lead, I really did try that as well, with very mixed results.

Again, I understand the frustration - I have cats pooping in my front garden and I don't like that. But - unless they are really out of control and the owner is not even trying - there needs to be a level of understanding in my opinion.

 

Was looking at cotoneaster that plantminded suggested, I like it but the PRICE .
Wouldn't want to get some and see it go to waste because of my lack of gardening knowledge.