The Winchendon Courier
Serving the community since 1878 ~ A By Light Unseen Media publication
Week of October 22 to October 29, 2020

Gardening

Fall Garden Tasks to Protect Your Landscape from Winter Wildlife Damage

Rabbit in garden
To protect plantings from rabbits, use fencing that is at least four feet tall or a repellent that discourages them from dining on plants.
Photo credit: Photo courtesy of MelindaMyers.com


As the seasons change, we adjust our gardening tasks and plantings to match. Animals also make changes this time of year, often changing their eating habits and dining locations. These adjustments can impact your gardens. Reduce the risk of damage by starting in fall to protect your landscape from hungry animals this winter.

Take a walk around your landscape to evaluate plants and plantings for their susceptibility to animal damage. Look for pathways that animals use to access your landscape and areas of potential damage. Note new plantings, animal favorites and those special plantings you would hate to lose. Make sure these are protected.

Check mulch around trees and shrubs. Deep layers of mulch and mulch piled around the trunk of trees and the base of shrubs provides shelter for mice and voles. These rodents like to gnaw on the bark of trees and shrubs in winter. Pull mulch off tree trunks and stems and spread out deep mulch so it is only two to four inches deep.

Protect young trees and shrubs with a four-feet-tall fence of hardware cloth sunk several inches into the ground to prevent vole damage at ground level and most rabbit damage. Mature trees are usually only bothered during years where the vole and rabbit populations are high and food is scarce.

Fencing around garden beds filled with animal favorites is another option. Make sure your fence is high enough, tight to the ground and gates are secure. You will need a four-feet-high fence for rabbits and at least five- to six-feet-high fence to keep deer out of small gardens. A fence of several strands of fishing line has proven to be successful for some gardeners.

Repellents are another less obtrusive option. These use smell or taste to discourage animals from dining in your landscape. Check the label to see if the repellent works on the animals and rodents you are trying to manage. Apply repellents before animals start feeding for best results. Then reapply as recommended on the label. Look for one, like organic Plantskydd (plantskydd.com), that is rain and snow resistant, lasting up to six months on dormant plants over the winter so you will need to apply it less often.

Scare tactics may be effective depending on where you live. In urban and suburban areas animals are used to human scents and sounds. Gardeners often hang old CDs and shiny ribbons in tree branches to scare hungry animals. If you opt for scare tactics, be sure to employ a variety of options and change their location to increase your chance of success.

Constantly monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the methods used and check all plantings for damage. When animal populations are high and hungry, they will eat about anything. Be willing to change things up if one method is not working. Using multiple tactics will help increase your level of success.

Protect your landscape from hungry deer, rabbits, and voles this winter. Start preparing in fall before their winter dining habits begin. If you are vigilant and persistent, you can coexist with these creatures and still have a beautiful landscape.

Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” DVD series and the Melinda’s Garden Moment TV & radio segments. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and was commissioned by Tree World Plant Care for her expertise to write this article. Her web site is www.MelindaMyers.com.

Antiques

Latest antiques, collectibles, and auction news

Antique Botticelli painting


It has been over a month since my last antiques, collectibles, and auction news report. A lot has happened since. Let’s begin with an upcoming Halloween auction in Ireland.

The Irish Times reports that Mullen’s Auctioneers of Dublin, Ireland will be holding a Halloween auction. The auction features many prints, photos and medals related to historical events in Ireland. There are two items fitting for an auction on Halloween. A movie poster from the 1958 film “Dublin Nightmare” which has an estimate of 150 to 200 Euros (approximately $175 to $235 U.S. dollars) will be one of the offerings. A death mask of Irish novelist James Joyce is the other. The Irish Times reported that Joyce’s wife Nora authorized sculptor Paul Speck to make two death masks of Joyce when he died in 1941. Speck made an additional mask for himself. The two authorized masks are owned by the James Joyce Foundation. The third was sent to the Irish Library of Congress. Speck made 6 bronze castings before he presented the mask to the Library of Congress. Speck gave one of the castings to film director James Huston. Huston in turn had 12 more bronze castings created by Lunt’s Castings. One of the 12 Huston created will be auctioned on Halloween. Its auction estimate is 1,500 to 2,000 Euros (approximately $1,750 to $2350).

There are very few paintings by 15th Century Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli in private hands. It’s rare for one to come up for auction, but this noteworthy event will take place in January, when his "Young Man Holding a Roundel" will be offered. A Mutual Art article states that “Botticelli’s striking paintings in the late 15th-century made his work sought after by some of Europe’s richest patrons, and his works’ appeal was widespread.” CNN reports that this painting was produced in the 1470s or 1480s. According to Mutual Art: “it’s reasonable to assume that the sitter is an elite nobleman, due to his high quality clothing and pensive, refined appearance.” The current owner purchased it for £810,000 (a little over $1 million U.S. at the current exchange rate) in 1982. Despite the pandemic, the auction house and the consignor have found the auction market to be resilient. The auction estimate on the painting is $80 million.

A Kalamazoo, MI couple recently found that their $5 estate sale buy may be worth thousands, according to WWMT TV. The husband bought a poster rolled up in a tube without a price. He collects movie posters and thought that’s what he was purchasing. He offered $5. The seller accepted and the buyer gave the tube with the poster to his wife. It sat in their basement for five years until their son was searching for some wall art. He looked through the items his parents had accumulated and opened the tube with the poster. It was much larger than the family expected. WLNS TV reported that the poster they thought to be movie poster size was instead a whopping 8 feet x 13 feet large. The poster was produced by Air France in 1959. Their research determined that it was an original lithograph created by French artist Lucien Boucher. It depicts aircraft flying to destinations around the globe. The couple found auction results for a similar piece that sold for 18,750 British pounds (over $24,000 U.S.) in 2014. The couple decided to donate the poster. WWMT reported that the airline map is expected to land at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

Bidding ends on October 28th for our online coin auction. Our next auction featuring gold estate jewelry, sterling silver, pocket watches, World War I and II Red Cross posters, a 1931 Auburn automobile and a wide selection of other antiques and collectibles will be online soon with bidding ending November 17th.

Contact us at: Wayne Tuiskula Auctioneer/Appraiser Central Mass Auctions for Antique Auctions, Estate Sales and Appraisal Services www.centralmassauctions.com (508-612- 6111) info@centralmassauctions.com