We have a little over seven acres of land here at Garryloop, and I often wonder what the likes of Chris Packham would make of my efforts here over almost 20 years. I have planted trees along with wildflowers and even the garden shrubs have been selected for the bees and other wildlife-friendly benefits.
However, the fruit trees have had a bit of a tough time of it recently. This is not through poor soil but simply down to the deer and, to a lesser extent, brown hares. I have found that the deer have a real taste for the bark of fruit trees and particularly favour my apples and Victoria plums. Some years are worse than others, with damage usually occurring between November and January. I reckon around half the
