Lets have some flowers!

Erodium manescavii (Geraniaceae)

The plants were feeling a little bit left out, after all I am first and foremost a nursery-woman and plants are my livelihood.
So to cheer us all up on a grey winters day here are a few colourful additions to any border.
Erodium or storks-bill named such due to the shape of its seed pod.
This plant loves sun and poor soils, do watch out and deadhead regularly or it will seed around....

Helianthemum 'Wisley White' (Cistaceae)

Another old favourite that has been overlooked in recent years due to the introduction of many other new and exciting plants. The rock rose will make wonderful low growing sub-shrubs that do require a hard prune either after flowering or in the spring as they start back into growth. Another one for poor soils in a sunny spot.

Nepeta racemosa 'Walker's Low' (Lamiaceae)

Cat-mint sometimes dreaded by people who have wandering neighbours cats who love to frolic in it... to avoid this place an old empty wire hanging basket over the crown of the plant and peg it in place. This way the plants cannot be destroyed.
these plants are excellent for attracting in beneficial insects.

Geranium 'Mavis Simpson' (Geraniaceae)

Hardy geraniums not to be confused with bedding geraniums (Pelargoniums)
If you are struggling to find a plant for a certain spot in the garden there is always a hardy geranium that will fill the gap. they have to be one of the most useful garden plants and so rewarding as easy to grow.

Aquilegia 'Hensol Harebell' (Ranunculaceae)

Aquilegia or Granny's bonnet just make everyone reminisce about old cottage gardens. These plants are often thought of as promiscuous due to their ability to cross pollinate and seed profusely. This is only a problem if you allow it to be... deadhead so they cannot seed around, dig up young seedlings.
When they are flowering in late spring they make such a wonderful display.

More Rats......

What more can be done!
Perhaps we require an army of Jack Russell terriers.
I have a slight concern with this in that although they are
small dogs they don't care what they run over or bite?!
The rats are in our precious stock plant area....and propagators
get very possessive of their Precious!!

so we tried the elevated bench which seemed to work but then
the little beggars decided they really wanted the Iphieon and they
climbed up the legs.
So now the legs have been greased....try and get up now! 

Greasy pole

We did catch one with the lure of Chocolate on the little nipper trap
Little nipper 1
Rentokil trap 0

Slugs are slugs?

Or are they? Sea slugs are different..

Nudibranch commonly called sea slugs better than the terrestrial ones?

Nudibranch or sea slug

Flabalina affinis in Lanzarote

Flabalina affinis

Chromodoris quadricolor (Pyjama slug) Sharm el Shiek

Scuba diving is my other passion and it is surprising how the underwater world mirrors terra-firma or should I say terra-firma mirrors the deep sea, as this is where it all came from!
These slugs are wonderful colours and have amazing stinging cells on their skin so any predator gets a bit of a shock. They are not large and browse the rocks for food.

Slugs in the garden however are not something we go out of our way to photo graph!