Monday 29 December 2008

Rabbits!

This the first of what I hope will be a series of reflections on gardening in SW France, more precisely on the southern borders of Gers, the nearest town being Lombez. The property consists of about 4 hectares situated on the southern slope of a smallish ridge, and looking down upon a river - in reality a stream - valley with longish views to north and south. From the house the Pyrenees are partially obscured by the next ridge, but we do see in suitable weather conditions the Pic du Midi framed at the southern end of our valley.  Over the months ahead I will no doubt say more about the site, but I thought that I would start with rabbits, since they are one of the dominant features of the site. They will also enable me to say something about my attitude to the current obsession with the environment, global warming, and everything 'Green'.

There are a lot of rabbits here. I usually say about three hundred, but of course I have no idea exactly how many. Still the figure gives some indication of how largely they dominate my gardening scene.  The land has been farmed, no doubt from time immemorial, but at least for twenty years there has been no garden, nor indeed anybody living here, so rabbits have been able to breed with no human interventions. The land is probably anyway a rabbit paradise with woodland, steep banks, made almost impenetrable by blackberries and blackthorn, but also in certain areas quite sandy, so designed for the making of burrows. But the land is also home to a multitude of birds of prey. There is evidence of both badgers and foxes, and one way or another one might have thought that it was an almost ideal site for the wonderful balance of nature that the current breed of environmentalists are so keen on. My own view, much reinforced by my observations here, is that no such balance exists, or certainly not in the short or medium term. There are frankly too many rabbits for the number of predators, with the result that not only does my garden suffer, but that the surrounding arable fields lose a two metre strip at their edges. Perhaps myxomatosis will shortly kick in - our neighbour reports much fluctuation in the rabbit population - and some sort of balance will emerge for a time at any rate. Meanwhile I have to put up with a plague of rabbits.

I also have to put up with an advancing horde of wild blackberries, and blackthorn with other species such as hawthorn and wild cornus, not far behind. And as regards wildflowers the thugs are too many to list.  And that is my point. There exist out there a horde of thugs, mostly at war with one another, in which any victory is temporary. There is no such thing as this peaceable, finely balanced eco-system, so frequently referred to in all environmentally correct media outlets, including the RHS magazine, 'The Garden', and on France Inter by Alain Baraton, and I personally am prepared to use every means to battle for the survival, I should really say creation, of a garden that pleases me. One consequence of this is that if you are a passionate Green do not bother to consult this blog again.

That said, there is a lot to be said for moderation in all things. Weedkillers can do damage, and should only be used in a sensible way. I do not myself treat roses. Greenfly never seems to me to do serious harm, while treatment for blackspot and rust never seems to work.  For me the key to avoiding there often very disfiguring presence, is to choose the right rose, since some are much more susceptible than others. In this context the Quest Ritson's Encyclopedia of Roses is excellent in pointing out any inherent weaknesses, something that rose catalogues for airly obvious reasons tend to avoid. On the other hand I do attack slugs, since the damage they do is all too evident, but again a little and often is better than covering the ground with pellets. I also use chemical fertilisers, which are much more effective than anything 'organic', though what they do not do is help condition the soil, which Gersois clay is much in need of.  So I wage war, but not all out war. And as I have already made clear, I do not feel that the garden is seriously lacking in wildlfe, alas far from it.