We have a large, unkempt and, frankly, rather ugly Pampas in our back garden.
Over the years we've cut it back, both gently with shears and aggressively with a machete. It relishes the challenge and comes back bigger and stronger than ever. We tried neglect. It laughed at our efforts and spread further.
We've talked about getting rid of it completely. However, the chooks love it. They use it to shelter from the heat on a hot sunny day, and they use it to shelter from the rain when necessary. They've dug enormous craters for additional dust baths. They spend quite a lot of time in it.
They have another set of shrubs which should provide the same level of protection, and of course they have a walk in run with a roof... but the Pampas is their favourite place... because it is close to the house and they can see us in the kitchen from the security of the Pampas fronds.
So, we haven't removed it. However, we are now considering removing half of it... the "back" half which they don't use. We'll see.
Over the years we've cut it back, both gently with shears and aggressively with a machete. It relishes the challenge and comes back bigger and stronger than ever. We tried neglect. It laughed at our efforts and spread further.
We've talked about getting rid of it completely. However, the chooks love it. They use it to shelter from the heat on a hot sunny day, and they use it to shelter from the rain when necessary. They've dug enormous craters for additional dust baths. They spend quite a lot of time in it.
They have another set of shrubs which should provide the same level of protection, and of course they have a walk in run with a roof... but the Pampas is their favourite place... because it is close to the house and they can see us in the kitchen from the security of the Pampas fronds.
