Except for maybe dogs.
I have a problem. There’s this dog in the house down the back and I’m sure he is eyeing the chickens thinking maybe one day he will jump the fence and then it will be chicken burgers.
Of course the chickens being chicken they can’t defend themselves.
The neighbours put up a fence and gate but it doesn’t seem high enough and our back fence seemed to have some gaps in it. I put a pallet against it to stop him from being nosy but I still see him with sad puppy dog eyes staring at the chickens.
Also the neighbours cat, seems to like using our garden for it’s business.
I decided to take some action and put chilli powder in the bare patches of dirt so..if the cat tries to dig, they will get chilli powder up their nose.
This is all very annoying but I have to defend my property. Nobody else is going to do it.
Also I don’t have any guns..hmmm.
We have a border out the back because it was the 70s and that was the fashion. The border has been gardened over many times so I have put in green crop to restore all the minerals back and give it a rest.
However the border will not stop a dog jumping the chain link fence unless I put some more plants in, to shield the chickens.
so..going round my property there is - box hedge. chain link fencing. wisteria vine. more chain link fencing bordering side of long back of house driveway. Pear stump (it grew from seed, in the wrong place) bare ground now covered in green crop, wildflower seed mix and poppy mix…and some bulbs (not sure which ones yet). another box. Lemon grass. Four tyres, two with daisy, one with cherry tomato, another with basil, and some lilies. Then a blueberry tucked in there too. The tyres are chicken wired off so they are not dug up. next, another box, then three roses, and my sweet pea border along the chain link fence. I have also put stock in, mulched with pea straw, and some random green crop - mustard, phacelia, oats, lupin. Then the wooden fence separating the backyard from the neighbours. This has…lemon tree, grapevine, more green crop, a loquat, a canna lily, a compost bin and an incinerator.
The rose thorns burned to a cinder.
It was a mission getting those flower carpet roses out I tell you. But…thankfully, mission was accomplished. The remaining stumps I covered with pots, rusty buckets and old frying pans.
Hooray!
I have covered all the green crop, and the sweet pea with bird netting so that the chickens do not dig them up.
some more random plants I bought with my $10 kings plant barn voucher (since I spent so much money)..sweet alyssum, sweet william, wallflowers (to go at the backyard fence) and stock.
Mum of course was horrified. She kept telling me not to buy anymore plants.
I told her I got those plants free from the garden centre. It was true.
Also people give me plants. Like the other day I received a cigarette plant. I don’t smoke, but I couldn’t say no. It was a plant!
It really does look like cigarettes.
I’m not sure if that means anything or maybe I just have bad habits now.
Well, I better go, and dream of my next plan of attack and defense. A wall of shiny CD’s? the dog will look at them, see how ugly he is, and then won’t dream of attacking my chickens.
There is one plant that I covet though. I see it every spring around the neighbourhood and it never fails to delight. It’s called a pink flamingo tree or chinese toon and I really…really want one badly. So bad that tomorrow I am going to Mitre 10 and ask if they any in stock. Kings didn’t have any, I checked.
I plan to plant it where the citrus tree that didn’t take is. It would be good there, and then my garden will be complete (for now).
