Bulbs, buds, and badgers

February 7, 2019 by Ray Morgan

Well, dear readers, the badgers are back. Last year I spent a small fortune creating a fortress in my garden and lo, the stripey crims of Leigh-on-Sea are back and causing havoc!

They're really harshing my buzz, because for the first time in my life I'm desperate for spring. I've never been so excited to see bulbs popping up from amid the soil. Tiny, tentative green shoots have filled me with hope. We have garden centre vouchers to spend that were given to us as wedding presents, and our garden Pinterest board is overflowing with ideas. 

We want it all - a new shed! A firepit area! New plants and pots! There are shoots all over our plum tree, dormant-looking but breathing underneath. The camellia is heavy with buds, ready to burst into those creamy, baby-pink blooms that will soon be Instagrammed on a weekly basis. 

So to go out there and see tunnels under the fences, bricks tossed around like toys, dear bulbs dug up and pots smashed has been disheartening to say the least. 

Other friends tell me they're having the same issue, but we just have to grit our teeth, shore-up the garden again and hope they keep away. Then the real fun can start: clearing, sorting, planting - new seeds and new ideas. This is the first spring I feel ready to enjoy a new season in the garden. I just hope the black-and-white hoodlums can keep away.

If you're also having Animals of Farthing Wood invade your home (badgers, foxes, moles, squirrells) - I feel for you. We can get through this. Let's look at Sarah Raven catalogues and listen to Gardener's Question Time and look up firepit inspo on Pinterest. It's gonna be ok.