It has been noted that the British care more for their animals than for people. Gardeners too seem to have a remarkable tolerance for anti-gardening creatures. With their scratching, digging, nibbling, and trampling, animals create extra chores at the beginning and end of the day. Should one have dinner before putting the chickens to bed in summer, or eat very late because they refuse to retire in daylight?
Beyond these dilemmas, we would like to know: How is it possible to keep the chickens away from the flowers and the fox away from the chickens, without turning your garden into a high-security jail?
Photographs by Kendra Wilson.
Coton Manor in Northamptonshire is one of the most glorious gardens I know and yet there they are: chickens by the lake, chickens in the exquisite borders. No one seems to care. This is partly because they are Barbu d’Uccle bantams, of the Millefleur variety. The ones with feathery feet. “Their efforts at digging up plants are not very effective,” says Susie Pasley-Tyler, chief gardener and owner of Coton Manor. “It’s quite touching,” she continues. “The bantams dig in the soil after you’ve been working in that area. They follow you around.” There is not a slug problem at Coton.
Chickens, ducks, and exotic birds are not treated as second class citizens at Coton Manor and this is key. The pond at the top of the garden is connected with the water ways at the bottom through a series of rills. The bog garden, woodland garden, and orchard all have water sources and the birds are free to wander through all of this. Only one waterway is diverted into a fenced off area, also known as the Sin Bin, for wayward birds.
Other four-legged animals including sheep, cattle, and horses are wonderful providers of manure. Vita Sackville-West had a couple of donkeys roaming around the front lawn at Sissinghurst. Not elegant, show-off steeds but friendly grazers. Would you consider a donkey as an alternative to a ride-on mower?
For more ways to dress up the countryside with animals, see The Most Glamorous Cows in England.
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