Annieseed

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Phlox and epimediums are lovely, though, and you can easily dig 'em out! And no one would be without mint - fresh applemint,  not the anorexic spearmint that comes in pots in the supermarket. You need lots of it to make mint sauce, so a pot won't really do - I think you just have to let it run its course in a spot you don't need for anything else. 

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PS - I agree entirely with Adam about leaving an invasive plant in situ, unless you have masses of room to play with.  I made the great mistake about a decade ago of buying one, tiny wild violet to plant in my smallish garden. So pretty, I thought.  One of the biggest gardening mistakes I ever made - all these years later, I still spend a huge amount of time each spring and summer trying to remove this dogged little thug from every conceivable nook, cranny and crevice. Wild violets - don't do it!! 

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Hi Davie, why don't you show the thistle the door (so to speak) but replace it with something that looks like a thistle - and a giant one, at that? 

Get a cardoon - or three! They're magnificent - just the same structure as thistles, but much bigger! They don't spread, they're really easy to grow from seed so you can acquire them for a couple of quid, they don't spread but will last for years - I've had mine for 13 now - and if you want Scottish symbolism, these'll give you giant Scottish symbolism  What's more, you can also eat them. I'd post a pic if I only knew how - but Google cardoon and you'll see what i mean.

Climbing rose suggestions

I agree, Graham Thomas is gorgeous. I've had him only two years and can't wait for him to really hit his stride, as the flowers are so very beautiful. He is planted with cotinus 'Royal Purple' and the combination of the matt burgundy leaves with the rich pure yellow is just lovely.

Good bagged compost?

I know one to avoid, and that's Er*n. I bought several bags on offer last year to fill my tubs; not only were the contents mouldy and full of large lumps of debris, they obviously hadn't been sterilised properly as said tubs were soon sprouting with Japanese knotweed, previously unheard of in my area. Good job I recognised it. 

I usually find Westland ok.

monty don

Ho ho shazzza1, my first chance to get out on the allotment this morning after missing all the sunshine at work. Guess what? It's going to rain! Good for all those weeds, though....

Talkback: Toad In A Hole.

I regularly get frogs and toads in the garden, and very welcome they are, although it's a constant surprise to me as I don't have a pond (although there's damp shade), and none of my neighbours do, either. They must hang around, too, because some of them appear in the same bit of the garden week after week. Please does anyone know how far they can live successfully from a water source? And why would they choose to do so?

Your gardenersworld.com wishlist

Thanks Daniel. Re sowing, I actually meant something more specific on germination conditions - ideal temperatures and degrees of light/darkness for commonly-grown plants. This would be really helpful as this information can sometimes be hard to find, and to have it in one place would be a valuable point of reference.

The image galleries sound like a nice idea!

Thanks again for your reply.

Your gardenersworld.com wishlist

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for your reply. Re trials - that's exactly what I meant, really; I know you don't have the wherewithal to run formal trials, but it would be good if there was a place on the site where members could make informal comparisons over results with the same seeds sown at the same time, or over different varieties grown in the same season, etc. Just making a bit of a feature of it, rather than leaving it to ad hoc possible threads on the forum. Giveaway seeds would be good place to start. I always found these ' viewer trials' one of the most interesting and enjoyable parts of the programme, but they don't seem to happen now.

Apart from the coverage from the shows, the programme often feels (to me) to be quite far removed from the general public, in terms of it being fronted by 'one man in his garden' with inserts from other presenters elsewhere, and with members of the viewing public not often in evidence. I would've thought that an interactive elements feeding back from the website and/or magazine to the programme would strengthen all areas and make them appear more cohesive. Programme, magazine and website feel like quite different entities at the moment. I've watched the show and bought the mag for many, many years, but my preference at the moment is for the website because it is interactive and provides content on demand in a way the other media forms never can.  

Picking up on what another contributor's said elsewhere, I also think it'd be great if there was room to put together a guide somewhere to ideal germination conditions for some commonly-grown seeds; for those of us who like to try propagating many new things I think it'd be really helpful. Instructions are often vague, and trial and error is expensive! 

Underplanting silver birch

For spring, forget-me-nots en masse, euphorbia polychroma and big clumps of different daffs, flowering at different times, from lemony Ice Follies to the lovely late-flowering Pheasant's Eye? Low maintenance and full of zing!