The TV gardener has shared his experience of welcoming wildlife into his garden, and it seems there can be negatives as well as positives from doing so
Gardening legend Alan Titchmarsh has opened up on a rather alarming discovery. The telly star, who is known for his love of horticulture admits being left gobsmacked after one creature in his pond appeared
Alan, who will be gracing our TV screens this Sunday on ITV’s Love Your Weekend, shared that although he didn’t expect large creatures like otters in the wildlife pond he dug about 15 years ago, he did look forward to hosting more likely visitors: “Newts and dragonflies, damselflies and perhaps the odd kingfisher.”
In a brief chat with BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine, Alan revealed that for a while, he enjoyed a bustling enclave of miniature beasts skimming his pool’s surface – until an unexpected development occurred. “But then, from somewhere,” he reminisced, adding: “Probably on the webbed feet of a visiting duck, roach arrived.”
Roach are small yet resilient freshwater fish, which can grow up to 14 inches and survive under challenging conditions. Notably, scientists have found that roaches are often the last survivors as rivers or ponds succumb to pollution, reports Gloucestershire Live.
But despite their durability, roaches also come with voracious appetites: “Thinking it was just another form of wildlife to gleefully add to my list, I bought some fish food,” noted Alan.
“Whenever I sprinkle it on the water, ” Alan recounted, before saying: “The surface turns into something reminiscent of that scene in the James Bond movie where the baddie is eaten by piranhas. The once limpid pool becomes a foaming cauldron for fully 30 seconds before all the food disappears.”
Sadly, the roach in Alan’s pond weren’t satisfied with just the occasional banquet of fish food; they’ve also ravaged the insect population that initially delighted him.
In an effort to rebalance his aquatic ecosystem, Alan has even fostered the growth of an alder tree over the pond, hoping to attract kingfishers to prey on the roach.
Yet, the most disheartening episode in Alan’s wildlife encounters was the devastation of his cherished cherry blossom. “My small but now 20-year-old plantation of the pure-white ‘Shirotae’ cherry generally gives rise to gasps in early April,” he reminisced.
“This year we went away for the weekend just before it was due to open. We returned and excitedly walked around the back of our barn to take in the anticipated view..”
However, what Alan and his wife Alison were met with was a “pathetic,” scene. “The welter of buds had been decimated by wood pigeons.”
He lamented that the only blossoms left were those on the slenderest branches, too fragile to support a peckish wood pigeon: “Heartbreaking,” he concluded.
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