Protecting your spring bulb investment The autumn task of planting spring bulbs is an investment in next year’s colourful landscape. After perusing catalogues and websites, purchasing your selection of spring-blooming bulbs and settling them into tidy clusters among shrubs and perennial borders – that is the time to sit back and consider the job well done. But sometimes, the following morning reveals a scene less like a neat garden bed and more like a ravaged field. Something has been digging up bulbs and feasting on your carefully deposited investment. If squirrels are among the frequent wildlife visitors to your garden, well then, you probably know what did it. To be fair, squirrels are wild animals following instinctual commands – that is to say, a squirrel just must do what comes naturally. Unfortunately, this has happened at your expense and disappointment. Blind rage will offer you no satisfaction. Better to understand why squirrels dig and learn some techniques to avoid those triggers. Autumn is the harvesting season for squirrels, and they’re busy gathering all of the nuts that they can find. Any solid round plant object is considered a fair addition to their diet. The gathering instinct is highly competitive. A squirrel is eager to collect as much food as possible from woody, nut-producing plants. They will observe another critter at work and rob the cached food. That is a primary lesson for gardeners. Never plant bulbs when a squirrel is in the garden to observe the location of your buried bulb stash. Spraying animal repellants or sprinkling hot red pepper flakes is only briefly effective, if at all. The smartest way to keep critters from digging up your bulb investment is to carefully disguise the marks of your work. Squirrels search the ground for signs of disturbance, with the incentive of finding your treasure buried there. Once the soil is replaced to cover bulbs in their holes, run a generous amount of water over the area to create a muddy texture that will erase the marks of your spade or trowel. Then put a four- to six-inch layer of leaves over the place in which bulbs are planted and spray the leaf pile to soak it down. If evergreen boughs or light twigs are available, these can also be laid over the leaf pile. This is usually an effective way to hide bulbs from animals searching for buried food. The leaves can be swept away after the ground has frozen and squirrels are no longer digging. If left in place over winter, remember to move leaves away in early spring and allow warming air temperature to encourage bulbs to rise. When planting bulbs inmore expansive areas such as a full bed of tulips or narcissus, a sheet of non-woven, floating fabric plant cover can Gardening Set your garden up for a colourful spring In the flurry of departure preparations, you can plan a colourful return next year by planting spring bulbs. But give some thought to protecting your investment from the interest of garden critters. You may be headed for sunny days, but the cold wind still blows at home. 52 | www.snowbirds.org
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzMzNzMx