Herald - Issue 413

v FOR GOOD ADVICE, ASK YOUR LOCAL SPECIALISTS v 7th October 2021 • The HERALD • Page 49 | DOWN THE GARDEN PATH | SPADEWORK Family Landscaping & Fencing Team ] Decking & Natural Sandstone Paving ] Patios ] Driveways ] Block Paving ] Turfing ] All Types of Domestic & Commercial Fencing ] Security Fencing Supplied & Fitted Tel: (023) 8089 4909 Mobile: 07703 566814 u F ree E stimates u F ully I nsured All aspects of Gardening carried out by reliable gardener a Grass Cutting a Hedge Cutting a Border Maintenance, Pruning, Weeding a Treating of Fencing/Trellis/Outbuildings a Pressure Washing of Patios/Decking The Potty Gardener Contact Kev on 07585 115569 or 023 8084 8638 BEAULIEU HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY On a glorious September a ernoon Beaulieu Horticultural Society held its rst indoor meeting since COVID-19 began! Members gathered in East Boldre Village Hall to hear a talk, East Boldre Hedgehog Rescue, by Louise Godden. Louise, who lives in East Boldre, is a member of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and dedicates her life to the rst aid, care, rehabilitation and release of Hedgehogs into gardens in the New Forest and surrounding area. Indeed, such is her dedication to helping these small native animals that she had to bring with her two two-weeks-old orphaned hoglets as they needed feeding every two hours, day and night. So members were rewarded with a live demonstration of the two tiny creatures waking up in their special travel box to be fed using a syringe dropper. Quite a unique view into the life of these fascinating animals who visit our gardens under cover of darkness. Louise talked about her work and the set-up of her Hedgehog Sanctuary in East Boldre, which includes her house, garage and garden. At the moment she is caring for about 40 hedgehogs. Such are the dangers that hedgehogs face that on one day in August she received 10 hedgehogs that needed attention. Some had to have care from a vet, others help to recover from minor wounds, malnutrition or pest infestation. September can be a particularly busy time as there can be many small hoglets, the result of a late brood, needing help to build up su cient fat reserves to enable them to survive the winter hibernation. e minimum weight to see them through the winter is 450 grams and any hedgehog below that weight is likely to have problems and will need extra help with food and shelter. So this is when Louise is willing and able to come to their rescue. She is also able to give dietary and care advice as is the British Hedgehog Preservation Society on: 01584 890801 or visit: www. britishhedgehogs.org.uk Nearly a quarter of all hoglets die before leaving their nest and probably half of the rest do not survive their rst hibernation. ey tend to hibernate between November and mid March. In a useful question and answer session, members learnt how to create a safe environment in gardens, preferably by leaving a wildlife area with hibernating material such as brushwood and leaves with open routes to other similar areas, as hedgehogs like to roam quite widely in search of food. You can provide supplemental feeding such as meat based pet food or special hedgehog food and a bowl of drinking water, particularly in unseasonable weather. You can assist them to avoid man-made hazards such as wire and netting and avoid using pesticides especially poisonous slug pellets and rat poison. Mowing and strimming, bon res and litter can be real dangers. Sadly, one of the hedgehog ‘s biggest enemies is the badger who will kill and eat a great many hedgehogs both in the countryside and in gardens. Sadly too, most of us see more squashed hedgehogs than live ones as we drive around. A hedgehog is known as “the gardeners’ friend” as it will eat garden pests and does no harm and so a er Louise’s informative talk, together with the information in many useful lea ets that were available, Beaulieu Horticultural Society members were hopeful of attracting more of these delightful and endangered native animals into their gardens. Donations to East Boldre Hedgehog Rescue in the form of suitable food or funds for food and care are most welcome. Louise Godden and East Boldre Hedgehog Rescue can be contacted on: 07595 709617 or email: louisepgodden@gmail.com Future events are: 14th October in East Boldre Village Hall at 2pm, a talk “Gardens of Japan” by John Baker; 11th November in East Boldre Village Hall at 2.30pm AGM followed by Gardeners Question Time and refreshments. Visitors welcome £2. Louise Godden from East Boldre Hedgehog Rescue News from Healthy Haven Garden e Healthy Haven Garden held an open morning on Saturday 4th September with free refreshments. People were able to look around the garden to see how it had developed. One visitor was there when the garden was o cially opened at the beginning of May 2019. ere were vegetables, owers, lavender birds homemade jam and plants for sale. e garden is now open to the public during surgery hours so do go along and have a look. Four volunteers from the Healthy Haven Garden enjoyed an a ernoon out at Houghton Lodge Gardens on Wednesday 8th September. First they looked around the walled garden, then walked past the peacock garden, followed by a picnic in front of Houghton Lodge which is one of the earliest and best surviving examples of a Cottage Orne in England built in the late 1700’s. ey walked along the river Test through the water meadows and saw two alpacas and some black Hebridean sheep, then walked back through the walled garden and had tea and cake outside the Orangery. A lovely a ernoon was had by all. Left to right: Chris, Pam Janet and Anne