Grower’s digest - November 2018

Spoil a sparrow this winter

Among the most vulnerable in some of France’s cooler regions in winter are small birds, which is why it is so important to set up bird feeders (mangeoire) in your garden. This model, called the Mont Blanc, is actually made of recycled plastic despite looking like wood. It will not rot, it is resistant to predators and UV rays, and therefore does not discolour.

You can easily fill the feeder simply by lifting the roof. Grease blocks can be placed on both sides in the easy-to-open holders.

Price: €89.99 from www.vivara.fr

Beetle mania

This grim-looking critter can be the bane of palm-tree owners (see left). The palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) is known as the Charançon rouge des palmiers in France and grows to 2-4cm in length.

The larvae can excavate holes in the palm tree trunk up to a metre long, which weakens and eventually kills it.

One Connexion team member reports successfully combating it with the use of Bioassays’ ‘pitfall trap’ (pictured, below) which attracts the beetle with pheromones – she snared 45 in one month.

Price €10.50 from www.bioassays.fr

Insta-jardins

Social media app Instagram is a brilliant way to enjoy other people’s gardens in France, with everyone from chateau visitors to chambre d’hôtes owners posting seasonal snaps of their gardens (users can search using the hashtag #jardins).

This month’s pick features some wonderfully contrasting reds and greys snapped at Domaine de Chaumont in the Loire by weloirefamily