About 2 years ago I wrote a post about ‘the troublesome corner’ in my garden. I told the story about how I had tried for years to make things grow in that bottom right corner and that a combination of dry shade, cats and foxes jumping over the fence and foxes digging a tunnel under the fence through to next door garden made that corner a real challenge. You can read that post here to get the rest of the details.
Yesterday I decided that the long suffering hebe growing in this troublesome corner was finally going to end up in the compost bin – that is the compost bin at my local council, I don’t actually have a compost bin but I collect everything useful of garden waste and the council come and collect it, very handy. Anyway, the hebe is to the far right in this photo, behind the fern and so small you can hardly see it. From memory I think I bought it in 2007 so I think I have given it more than enough time to settle in!
So in I went, with a heavy duty spade, expecting a bit of heavy work with getting the roots out, after all, it had been there for a number of years. Can you imagine my shock when the spade went through the first inches of soil and then just vanished into the ground, the whole spade, almost into the handle! I nearly fell over, standing there in the flower bed!! And what you can see in this tray was all that came out of the ground, this pathetically small excuse of a hebe. The ground under the hebe turned out the be a large hole and the roots were just hanging in air, not anchored in soil.
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All sorts of horror thoughts went through my mind there and then standing in the flower bed, about sink holes and people being swallowed up by the ground!
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Yes, it actually happens, and even if people manage to stay clear, houses, gardens, cars and so on can risk falling in. This photo is from Schmalkalden in Germany in 2010.
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OK, so my hole wasn’t that big, but I could not see where it ended, and at first I did not dare walking around on the edges….would I end up falling in?
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Perhaps I should try putting some of my tools in and see how far they reach?
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This is my very handy grabber which I use every day in the garden to pick up leaves from the ground, here you can get a view of the size of the hole that collapsed once I started digging out the hebe. Just think of it, before I put the spade in, this area looked complete with no hole at all.
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There are several tunnels leading in all directions, but I can’t get very far, I would need something flexible, but I am not so keen to get down there – what would I meet?!
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The other direction is more straight, my grabber goes in very easy and could get lost in there, I can’t feel the bottom of this tunnel.
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I tried to put my garden rake in, but I hit the wall, the tunnel is angled towards the wall so I can’t tell where it goes from there unless I put something flexible inside.
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So what made these tunnels or burrows? Moles? Not likely, the tunnels are very wide, about 15cm or more, moles are tiny animals and would not need tunnels that size – unless they were supersized moles on steroids!
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Rabbits?? OK, there are wild rabbits in London, but they don’t tend to be a big problem for small garden holders and I have never ever seen a rabbit or damage done by rabbits in my garden so I tend to think that I can’t blame this on them. Aww…aren’t they cute?
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So…rats? Much more likely, rats make huge burrows and can use the same burrow for 20 years or more – they are lazy animals and would rather use their familiar rat-run than digging something new. I have never seen a rat in my garden or any excrements from rats, but I haven’t got any openings from any burrows or tunnels either…well, not until now that is!! Perhaps my garden is just the middle of the tunnels going from the neighbour on my left to the neighbour on my right?
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And if it isn’t rats then it could just as likely be foxes, their burrows don’t need to be much more than 20cm wide. They were a huge problem in my garden some years ago, I took this photo standing on the stairs at my backdoor with this fox lounging at the bottom of my garden as if he owned the garden. Urban foxes are as much a London landmark as Big Ben or drunk men falling out of pubs. They’re utterly fearless, and whereas in the countryside they’re likely to sprint away at the first sign of a human, here they’re more likely to pull a knife on you and take your wallet.
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I keep my garden tidy. Very tidy. Some say OCD tidy – but that's usually people who are very untidy themselves. I just like things tidy and it also makes it less of a home for uninvited guests like slugs, snails, rats, badgers, mice and foxes. They all like to find places to hide, in my garden there is no place to hide and no piles of old leaves to scurry under when danger is near.
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But let’s widen the picture a bit and see what it looks like in my neighbours’ gardens, after all, my garden is not placed in a sealed eco-bubble - what goes on around me affects my garden too.
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My neighbour to the right has a huge shed, I often wonder what lurks under and behind it.
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And they have a mattress out on their patio, it has been here for over a year, through summer rain and winter storms and record amounts of precipitation. I can’t imagine this mattress ever being brought indoors and used again - and the council will come and collect household items for free so why do people have them lying around in their garden? A place for rats to congregate and multiply??
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By the way, this is the garden I did up almost 3 years ago, during winter and spring 2011, when I was finished in May 2011 it looked like this. The tenant who lived here at that time was very ill and I did it for him as he could not take care of the garden and it had got very overgrown and been taken over by foxes. Sadly he died just after this. Since I did up the garden, one family has moved in and left and family number 2 is currently living here (4 adults and 3 children) and as you can see on the previous 2 photos, they do some attempts to grow some vegetables in the garden, but I don’t think they have actually produced anything edible yet.
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And now, let me show you the garden to my left – and what is it with the beds, they have a bed in their garden too, it has been here for years! This house has had the same owner all the 12 years I have been here and the garden has looked like a rubbish dump all that time. Some years it has not been possible to even see the ground for rubbish so I suppose at the moment there is slightly less rubbish here than at its worst – not that that really helps!
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At the bottom of their garden is what I fear is the entrance to whatever is making burrows in my garden. This pile of rubbish has been stacked like this for about 4-5 years, a perfect hideaway for both rats and foxes. I have talked to the tenants who has lived here the last 6 years or so, but they claim all the things down here are things they want, nothing is rubbish. Mmmm, a washing machine and a cooker that has been out in the rain for 6 years?! I really wonder what's lurking around under that tarpaulin....
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Ok, back to sinkholes.
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Oh, sorry, I mean the hole in my garden!
I am not sure what’s tunnelling up my garden, and I have no idea whether the burrows are fresh, 50 years old or anything in between - how would I know? I have read about rats the last couple of days and if this is down to rats, the council will come and take care of it for free. If it is down to foxes they won’t do anything, it will be up to me to clear up after them and patrol my garden myself. Bloody foxes! I wish they were a bit easier to scare away, they are so used to humans that they don’t even budge when you try to shoo them away!
Anyway, now that I have got to the end of this post I have decided that I will give the council a ring and ask for advice, or perhaps I should just send them an email with a link to this post, so they can see the photos. The photos of the hole in my garden that is, not the sink hole from Germany. But sink holes do happen though, you never know…
I’ll let you know through the comments what the council said, if they say anything at all. Don't hold your breath while waiting....Until next time, take care.
An amazing discovery and kudos to you for investigating further to ensure the conditions in your neighborhood are safe.
ReplyDeleteThe condition of the property to your left is appalling and should be cited and scheduled for cleanup since affects the neighborhood even if it is entirely contained within the fence. The other is borderline at the "icky" and "ewww" level. (This from an American in case you do send a link to the Council.) Your urban foxes seem to be a nuisance similar to our coyotes.
Thanks Shirley, I am so fed up with my neighbours’ gardens! I have actually offered to help do up the garden for my neighbour to the left and they have been very interested after seeing what I did in the garden to my right, but they have to get rid of all the rubbish first and that seems to be very difficult...I first offered to help about 4 years ago.
DeleteHi Helene, wow, that is indeed quite a hole that you have in your garden! And the tunnels that are going away from it are pretty impressive as well. I can't believe that the holes and tunnels that big in diameter are dug by rats, to me that seems quite a waste of their energy, since they are small animals, so I assume it is the foxes. But, of course, I am no expert in this. I am very surprise that London has a fox problem. I only know them as very shy. It is interesting that they have adapted so well to living with humans. I am curious if you can find out for certain, who is digging in your garden and, of course, I hope for you that you can fix the problem. Wishing you a nice rest of the week!
ReplyDeleteChristina
I have been out in the garden today too, inspecting the hole a bit more closely and today I actually dared to step into the hole after a careful assessment of the bottom of it – it felt safe to stand on! I put my boot into the tunnels, didn’t dare to put my hands in, and it feels like the tunnels are much more than 15cm wide, possibly as much as 20cm (8”) but still not sure if I can exclude rats, although I can’t really understand how a fox can get through a tunnel that small, you should see the size of the foxes we have, they weigh about 20-30lb (9-13kg) with some reports of foxes weighing up to 38lb (not so sure if I believe that, would like to see it first…). Compared to dogs for example, 20-30lb would be something like a French Bulldog, a Cocker Spaniel or a Corgi. Can’t really see them getting through a tunnel of around 8” wide, crawling under the whole of my garden to surface somewhere else. But I am no fox expert either!
DeleteI am not an expert on foxes, either, but while we were in London there was a program on TV one night about the problem of urban foxes in London. It actually was kind of funny, but of course the problem isn't humorous. I'll see if I can find a link to it on YouTube or something (or maybe you've seen it). I really like this post because it combines the seriousness of your problem (neighbors, sink holes, foxes, etc.) with a bit of humor. I read part of it aloud to Ernie and he chuckled, too. He reminded me that foxes are starting to become more tame on the college campus in our city. Usually, in the past, they were very skittish and shy. In any case, I hope you will be able to solve the issue for yourself and your neighbors. Take care!
ReplyDeleteHere's the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03fgwh8. Looks like it's not available now, but maybe it will be again in the future.
DeleteThanks Beth, I actually saw that program too when it was on, and I have seen many other similar ones. They all have the same conclusion really to the fox problem, which is to ‘put up and shut up’ - there isn’t any good solutions to deal with the problems urban foxes create, and we can only try to do some preventative measures like closing the rubbish bin lid properly and not keeping things in the garden that is attractive for foxes to eat or nest in.
DeleteI am glad you liked my post, say hello to Ernie from me, take care!
If I see your next door garden, I guess that is rats hole. They sometimes make so many hole under the ground. I have a problem like yours. My next door garden have a big shed that against my kitchen wall. The shed is a great place for the mouse and rats. The mouse usually make so many damage on my terrace garden. And the rats make so many holes and tunnel under the ground with so many branch on it. They destroy so many bulbs, roots or tuber. But after I have cats in my house the damage become decline. My neighbor plants cassava, so the rats only move around the cassava plots. I hope you can solve the problem soon.
ReplyDeleteI am still don’t know whether it is rats or fox burrows, I have read that rats burrows have tunnels about 8.5 cm wide, so it seems unlikely that what I have is made by rats but I don’t know. Somehow it would be easier to deal with if it was, although if it is an old fox burrow, the foxes are long gone and I could probably just try to fill it in again.
DeleteI'd stick a big rock or an empty pot in the hole and see if the animal digs around it or tries to move it. If not, they may have just left and found an easier spot to deal with such as the dump in your neighbors yard. We get really excited when we see foxes here. They're not common in the suburbs or city at all. Could it be a badger?
ReplyDeleteI have never seen a badger in my garden or in my neighbours’ so although they are common in more suburban London gardens I don’t think they are widespread where I live.
DeleteThe foxes here are nothing to get excited by, they are just a nuisance! They are very loud and noisy at night during the winter when mating and can keep you awake all night. And they are not afraid at all. I often go out with the rubbish late at night and there can be a fox or maybe several standing on the pavement only 2-3 m away from me, walking to my rubbish bin. The foxes won’t move, they just stand there, staring at me and I can feel their stare at my back as I turn around to go inside again. A bit spooky!
There are thought to be at least 33,000 urban foxes in Britain, more than 10.000 of them live in London.
What to say, Helene? Terrible! I think this was down to rats, of course. Please call to council let they fight against the rats. I would put 5-10 empty plastic bottles in a hole, sure rats can dig more.
ReplyDeleteI am still not sure what it is, but I think I have limited it down to either rats or foxes, can’t really think of anything else it could be!
DeleteSurely the council can do something about the tip in the garden next door! especially if you mention rats.
ReplyDeleteEhh…I wish, but most people’s back gardens look like this around here!
DeleteMy council have actually done a great effort to get people clearing up their FRONT gardens lately, as many people had exactly the same type of rubbish in their front gardens as they have in their back, my neighbour to the left included. So the council introduced fines for people storing rubbish in their front gardens and went around with enforcement officers to first inform people and then later in fine those who didn’t follow up. Seems it has helped a bit in my street. Would have been great if they could do the same with back gardens, but I doubt they will, it is not on show from the street so why would they....
Maybe if they saw it as a rat's hiding/nesting site the environmental health would step in.
DeleteI am going to email them and forward the photos from my neighbour to the left, but since I have no proof there are rats around I can only imagine what they will answer….
DeleteCan you sink a barrier into the soil alongside the fence?
DeleteI suppose that could be possible, if I paid someone to come and dig it up for me, but that would disturb all the plants I have growing along my fence. There is no access to the garden so every tool has to be taken through the house and everything dug up from the garden has to be carried or wheeled out back through the house. It would be easy if you could just come with a small digger and dig a trench and sink something down – that’s obviously not possible, and would destroy lots of plants in the process. The only way to do it would be digging by hand, and it would still disturb lots of plants – and be many days work. It would be much cheaper to replace plants as and when they get destroyed by the foxes.
DeleteAs your neighhbour's garden is non-existent would they let you have it done from their side?
DeleteThey don’t have access either, so everything would have to be dragged through their house instead then – and I would still need to pay someone for a couple of days worth of work. Nope, not likely I will be doing that.
DeleteI do hope for your sake that it is not rats. Everything else in the garden seem s to be growing so well that this would indicate that the hole is not running much through your garden.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment on my blog, I hope you don't mind me borrowing your idea, but it was such a lovely one. I am determined to carry on photographing the garden through the years now to keep a really good diary of how it has changed. It was indeed me singing and playing Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal by Roget Quilter.
Good luck with the hole.
I have decided to contact the council to ask for advice so we’ll see what they say. It seems like the tunnels are mainly at the bottom of my garden, along the tall wall, all the bushes there have been here for many years so I haven’t had any reason for digging here for a long time. Imagine my shock when the spade just vanished into the ground!
DeleteI am delighted you borrowed my idea of making a video record of you garden, of course I don’t mind! These days I take around 4000 photos of my garden every year and although I didn’t take as many in the beginning (with film camera!), I started in 2002 and have a record from the very beginning in this house. It is a great reminder and also, many of the photos from my garden ends up as greeting cards and other kind of art projects.
Oh I do hope the Council can do something about whatever is tunneling under your garden. At least now you know that poor plant had a really good reason for being so small. I hope you found a place to give it a second chance, instead of off to the compost pile.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your visit and interesting comment on my blog. Many years ago my mother had an entire flower bed full of Amaryllis bulbs, but like yours, a really rainy winter killed them all - drowned and rotted. Now it is pots only for the Amaryllis.
Lea
I gave that hebe a good home in a pot for now, with some nutritious compost, something it has been starved of for probably a very long time. Not sure if it will recover but I’ll give it a year in that pot and then it can go somewhere in the garden for a year, if it hasn’t recovered into a beautiful bush by then, that’s it – compost heaven for the hebe I am afraid.
DeleteYour dedication to beauty and order is extraordinary. Many would have gone either crazy or ballistic amid the disorder and trashiness neighbors perpetrate. Congratulations on creating an oasis, which I'm sure keeps you centered and sane as you somehow shut out the ugliness.
ReplyDeleteOh I try, I really try to shut out everything, and you have perhaps noticed the fences all around my garden? They were not here when I moved in, I have added them a few at the time, precisely to be able to create my little own oasis without seeing the rest of the world around me. As long as I am sitting down that works fine! When I get up I am afraid my neighbour’s gardens are very visible. And I haven’t even showed you the gardens of the neighbours next to them, some of them look even worse!
DeleteI have a long time ago decided I just can’t get upset about how my neighbours decide to treat their gardens – and houses for that matter - sadly their gardens reflect what their houses look like…but that’s their business and not mine. It is only when it affects me, my house and my garden it troubles me, and living in Victorian terraced housing that happens more often than you would think. Just don’t get me started on mice infestations, that’s enough for a whole post on its own I think!
I loved the humour in this post Helene. I can relate to having neighbours with a different approach to maintaining a backyard. We have new neighbours and they have done the worst job of pruning their trees and they have made some really ugly changes to their home. I also have a similar hole in one of my flowerbeds. I was tempted to fill it in, but couldn't bring myself to do so. I hope there are no rats lurking in your garden's little sink hole.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jennifer, I haven’t seen anything in the hole, no rats and no foxes so for all I know whatever was there might have been long gone. I am a bit tempted to fill in the hole too, but I would like to know what it is first, if it is from rats still lurking around I would like the problem dealt with first I think!
DeleteIt's so sad that people don't care about the environment they live in! Especially if their neighbours do. It's the same across my garden fence, and to be honest, about three weeks ago I saw a rat running across my garden. Untidy and messy spots are the best hiding places for rats. I haven't noticed any holes though in my green space.
ReplyDeleteI can understand that many people are not interested in gardening, I don’t blame them, we all have different interests, but what I can’t understand is why some choose to fill their gardens with rubbish and things that obviously isn’t ever going to be used again, like my neighbours do.
DeleteSorry to hear you have similar neighbours, I suppose if we keep having tidy gardens, at least the rats don’t stay for long in our gardens – I hope!
By the way, I wrote an email to the council tonight, I hope I will get a response from them :-)
Hi Helene
ReplyDeleteHow frustrating for you to have such slobs for neighbours! It's a shame that their properties are so awful and your is a such a jewel tucked in between.
I have no idea what's made your tunnel but if it's a fox, pray there's no babies soon or you will have a real problem.
Best of luck!
I am afraid that back gardens like my neighbours’ are rather common around here where I live – and gardens like mine are quite unusual. I live in a rather deprived area of East London where gardening and taking care of your house and environment sadly isn’t on top of people’s agenda. There are a few exceptions of course, but from my bedroom window upstairs I can see quite a few gardens in both directions and none of them looks like anyone care much.
DeleteI got a response from the council today, credit to their pest control department for replying to my email the day after I sent them my questions. They asked me to call them which I did, and was explained that the burrow most likely is from foxes. My nemesis it seems.
I agree with Astrid--your garden is a jewel tucked between these two sloppy back yards! What's especially sad is the garden on the right that looked so lovely just a few years ago and now has been allowed to turn into such a mess.
ReplyDeleteI do hope it's not rats tunneling in your garden--that would be enough to keep me indoors, just thinking about them! I hope you find a solution. I'd be tempted to fill in the hole and put a big boulder on top.
Rose, I try not to look too often at the garden I spent 5 months doing up only 3 years ago, it is too sad seeing it now, totally overgrown. And what’s even more sad is that all the plants I put into the garden came from my garden, 92 plants that I had grown from seeds or cuttings, some for many years, carefully selected to grow in my neighbours garden with a minimum of care and attention. The new neighbours have ripped out many of the plants to try to grow tomatoes, salad and strawberries, but they don’t know much about gardening and although they often ask for advice which I am more than happy to give, they don’t follow them so haven’t managed to produce anything yet. I have asked them to give me back any plants they don’t want instead of just throwing them away but that hasn’t happened yet. Some of the plants I planted there has managed incredibly well though, despite never being fertilized or pruned, so it seems I made good choices for that garden.
DeleteAs for the burrows, the guy from the pest control was pretty sure that the tunnels were too big for this to be a rat issue, much more likely to be foxes so I’m not sure whether to be happy about it or not…
The first thought that came to mind was foxes Helene. Mind you - if it were foxes, you would be smelling them - it's really quite strong. I do hope the council can come out and confirm this for you. I'd be tempted to lay a flat slab over the hole meantime. I could be that you've opened up the 'run' rather than uncovering an entrance/exit hole. I hope your cat isn't too inquisitive - I know one of mine would be right down there!
ReplyDeleteWhat an awful mess the neighbours on the left have - I would also guess that if there are foxes, there might well be a den in there. I can't fathom out why you would want to leave it all there especially is the council take it for free. We have to pay for special uplifts - which obviously leads to fly tipping but when it's free.....why???
I will be curious to know what the council say. What about investing in one of those wildlife cams that are infrared and work in the dark - at least then you'd know what you are dealing with.
I must admit if it had been rats I would not have liked it, but at least it could have been dealt with swiftly and that would have been it. Now that it has been established to be foxes it is not so easy, in fact, nothing can be done really, the foxes are here to stay whether we like it or not.
DeleteI had a huge fox problem for a number of years, from 2005 or so and onwards. That’s what finally lead me to clear the garden next door and do it up – and that made the foxes move somewhere else and I haven’t had foxes living in my garden for at least 3 years now. But they do come by on their nightly walk-about, jumping my fence on their way to the next garden, I have never smelled any strong smell though, not even when I had a fox family living next door and using my garden as their day lounge! Maybe they peed somewhere else? My neighbour’s garden on the other side?? Anyway, the fox burrow might be from back then, the guy from the pest control advised me to just lay some material loosely over it for the next week and see if it got disturbed or if earth was piled up around it. That’s easy for him to say, with at least 5 cats, including my own, using my garden on a daily basis it would be difficult to know who’s been around disturbing the soil! I don’t think my cat has been down the hole, the soil is quite wet so he would get rather dirt if he tried – I would have seen it if he had been down there and he hasn’t come home all dirty. I guess there might be scent left there, making him feel a bit unwelcome!
As for my messy neighbours, the guy at the pest control suggested to call the Public Health Department and ask them for help. I might try that but I can’t really see what they can do, as far as I know there is no law against messy back gardens yet – only front gardens, at least here where I live. The council here has always offered to take away household items for free, 20 bin bags or 6 larger items like furniture – even fridge and freezers do they take away for free, not many councils do that. And still people stack up their rubbish in the gardens. Beats me too.
Good advice to lay some loose material over it to find out if they are using it Helene. If unused it may put your mind a rest a wee bit.
DeleteThey must be peeing elsewhere - you'd have noticed it, believe me! It's really unpleasant! I won't hurt to ask the Public Health advice but I intend to agree with you, what can they do for a messy garden. Good luck with it Helene :)
I had no idea that foxes dug dens and tunnels in the ground! absolutely amazing. Looking at your neighbours yards there's no doubt it would be easy for an animal to make themselves at home there. Too bad how the next door garden has disintegrated. You did such a lovely job of it, it's not even recognizable anymore.
ReplyDeleteThanks Marguerite, foxes are a daily sight here in London, especially in the winter, and we try to live side by side but it’s not easy when you have a garden….They are generally regarded as a pest here, but some people think they are beautiful and feed them and encourage them into their gardens – which doesn’t exactly help!
DeleteI hope the foxes that dug the burrow have long gone so I can just fill it in and forget about the whole thing!
I hope the council will solve your problem. I think I would be happy when foxes were visiting my garden. Terrible vieuws out of the gardens of your neighbours.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful sunday Helene
I am going to contact the Public Health Department, but I don’t think they will be able to do much for me in terms of my messy neighbour. As for the foxes, I know for a fact they do nothing about them, here in London we just have to accept them. I am sure the foxes might look cute for someone not used to seeing foxes but I can assure you, you really don’t want to have a family of foxes living in your garden! They make such a mess and damage so many plants, I feel so devastated every time I come out and see more damage done to my garden by foxes. It somehow feels so unnecessary…
DeleteHoly slug bait, no wonder you some critters tunneling with a backyard full of so much junk next to you! All I can think of to do would be to get someone to attach and extend the fence down under the ground a foot or two along that side (though that would be either a good bit of work or costly.) Maybe if you fill in the hole with some sharp gravel? I hope the council has some good ideas for you. It is too bad the garden that you did for the neighbor became overgrown - it looked so pretty!
ReplyDeleteI am wishing for some new neighbours that would be interested in gardening – I have wished for 12 years and my wishes have so far not been heard…the neighbours on both side are just renting, neither owns their houses so they will probably not stay for a very long time before they move on. Hopefully sooner or later someone with a few green fingers will move in!
DeletePoor you Helene, the holes look like the work of foxes and are probably old ones originating from your neighbours property, they quite commonly dig breeding passages which are not used, being cynical the council would definitely err in that direction as they do not have to take any action. The sooner some people wake up to the fact that foxes are vicious killers and not some cuddly toy the better! They are vermin, which brings me to some of your neighbours who are providing ideal conditions for rats as you quite rightly say. Even the tidiest of gardens can have problems, my term for the ubiquitous decking is "flats for rats", ideal conditions under the decking and a steady supply of food during the barbecue season! I would just fill your holes up with anything to discourage any further use and forget it.
ReplyDeleteI also regards foxes as vermin, but around here, many people feed them and therefore keep them close and make them less afraid of humans. I will give it till middle of next week, then the hole will be filled but the tunnels are impossible to get to and fill so they will probably collapse on me every time I hit one with my spade trying to plant something down at the bottom of my garden.
DeleteOh my goodness! What a shock finding that in your back yard! I've been reading your responses to comments and it seems that foxes aren't the cute shy garden visitors that children's books would have me believe! If you fill the hole up will they just dig it up again? How about if you fill it with concrete :P
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could seed bomb your neighbour's back yard - then flowers would grow and cover all that rubbish! Such a shame you have that eyesore to look out on, never mind the rats. Your beautiful garden is a paradise though!
PS That mole picture is so cute... please don't tell me they are pests too, I don't want to be disillusioned!! :)
Nope, foxes are definitely not cute animals, not here in London! It seems the foxes have moved on from my garden and that the tunnels are not currently in use, might be part of the den from the fox family that lived here a few years back. I am filling it up with soil from plant I am planting, quite nice to have a place to dump excess soil as I usually have a problem of where to put it!
DeleteI have considered ‘seed bombing’ my neighbours back yard but they keep saying they are going to make a garden there – they have said that for the last 5 years….as for the mole, cute as they are they are a menace too! I am happy I haven’t found any in my garden yet!!