Clays Gardening Club’s last meeting prior to their summer visits featured speaker Tracy Foster, presenting to the group on the subject of hedgehogs.
You may notice hedgehogs visiting your garden when they are hungry or expecting their hoglets. If you do, consider yourself fortunate, as hedgehog numbers have plummeted from around 30 million in 1950 to just 1 million in the UK by 2020.
There are 17 species of hedgehogs worldwide. Hedgehogs typically live up to five years and enjoy beetles, eggs, and even cat food. Their primary predators are badgers.
To encourage hedgehogs to visit your garden, consider making access easier by leaving small gaps in your fences or walls. Some fencing companies now offer special panels with hedgehog holes already cut out. Hedgehogs can travel quite fast and often cover up to a mile in a single night.
Hoglets are born after a gestation period of about 31 to 35 days, with usually three to five in a litter. Their spines are white, soft, and hollow at birth, gradually hardening as they grow. They stay with their mother for about five weeks before venturing off on their own.
On Alderney in the Channel Islands, hedgehogs are blonde, and the local population feeds them biscuit crumbs.
Keep an eye out for hedgehogs in your garden. Netting – particularly football nets – poses a significant danger to them, as they can easily become entangled. Before digging in compost heaps, lighting bonfires, or strimming long grass, always check for hiding hedgehogs.
Group Outings
In mid-June, 33 members embarked on their much-anticipated trip to North Wales. After an early Monday start, they arrived in Conwy, where they had time to explore the town and visit the castle, built between 1238 and 1289 by Edward I during his conquest of Wales and now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Their journey then continued to a comfortable hotel in Llandudno. The next day saw a day-long trip to the enchanting Italianate village of Portmeirion. Situated on a private peninsula overlooking stunning coastal scenery, this location is where the Italian Riviera meets rural Wales. This folly, begun in 1925 by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, is now one of the area’s finest attractions, featuring 70 acres of superb gardens.
Day three brought a delightful excursion over the Menai Strait to Anglesey, where they visited Plas Cadnant Hidden Gardens – a gardener’s dream, leaving the visitors brimming with ideas. The afternoon was free for relaxation or further exploration of Llandudno, with some members opting for a tram trip up the Great Orme.
Sadly, on Thursday, it was time to head home. On the way, the group visited the famous Bodnant Gardens, founded in 1874 and developed over five generations of one family. The 80-acre garden, given to the National Trust in 1949, contains a variety of garden styles and is stocked with plants and shrubs from around the world. A pleasant end to a wonderful trip.
June also included a delightful visit to Ann Beeby’s glorious plot at East Markham, which proved an inspiration to all.
In July, 34 members visited Felley Priory, near Nottingham, a hidden gem envisioned by Major Chaworth Musters, whose family still resides there.
The club meets again in September with an outing to the Harrogate Flower Show at Newby Hall. On 16th September the first of the autumn talks will be held, with a return visit from Steve Lovall, with his talk ‘Bark, Berries, Leaves, and Textures’.
Meetings are held on the third Monday of the month at Wheatley Village Hall at 7.30pm. For further details, contact Christine Crowther on 01427 884882.