Sheena Patterson of Oxford Garden Design has fluffy nuisance neighbours

Until we moved into our new home earlier in the year, the previous occupants of the garden, a Mr and Mrs Rabbit of Delly End, had led the most blissfully peaceful life imaginable.

They, their numerous children, cousins, aunts, uncles and various other distant relatives, untroubled by disturbance from the unoccupied house, had two acres of land on which to cavort – making merry, and love as they pleased (and evidently quite a lot of the latter).

I now know what the expression “breeding like rabbits” means.

The doe can ovulate at any time of the year in response to the advances of a buck.

Consequently she can become pregnant up to ten times a year.

The outcome of all this outrageous fun and games is everywhere to be seen in my back garden, which we jokingly call Watership Down. As a teenager I recall watching the film and being close to tears after watching the plight of Hazel, Fiver and co as they struggled to survive the destruction of their warren.

Surely I wasn’t alone in feeling mournful at the sound of Art Garfunkel’s Bright Eyes?

But now I’m a cynical grown-up and definitely on the side of the farmer who shot the rabbit.

So why the change of heart?

All my life I’ve considered rabbits quite cute, relatively harmless little creatures.

But since we’ve become close neighbours, I’m sorry to report that Mr and Mrs Rabbit and I have had a serious falling out.

The problem with having a colony of rabbits in situ is their voracious appetite for most things green. If you have rabbits in your garden you can forget planting anything remotely interesting because the rabbits will agree with you and eat it the night after you plant it.

November is a great time to plant trees. So last week, Richard, one of the guys who works for Oxford Garden Design, helped me to plant some fruit trees in our own garden.

The very next day, a forlorn Richard reported that the trees had been ‘nibbled’ at the bottom.

No need to ask who the culprits were. Tree damage caused by rabbits is obvious, bark is gnawed away from the base of trunks, especially in winter when snow or frost makes other vegetation unavailable.

If they completely ringbark the tree it could die.

I confess, it was a surprise that they were quite so quick to get nibbling away at my new trees, while it’s been so mild there’s still plenty of other stuff for them to eat.

Who knows, perhaps they have a vendetta against me? Bare root trees and hedging plants are becoming available around now in garden centres.

They are great value for money and my article next week will give some ideas on good varieties to choose.

But if you do have rabbits in your garden, wild or domestic, take care to protect newly planted trees with plastic spiral guards. They don’t look very pretty, but neither does a dead tree, or rabbit for that matter.

A bit of plastic between the two will ensure they can both live happily side by side.

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