BobTheGardener

Talkback: House sparrows

What I like about sparrows most is when I see them flitting around my plants, clreaning them of aphids!  For some reason they don't like blackfly though, so still have to keep an eye on the broad beans and dahlias, which the blackfly seem to prefer.  Had a host of around 50 house sparrows in 2011, but a sparrowhawk started to regularly appear and was down to about 20 last year.  The most I've seen visiting my feeders at any one time this winter/spring was about 8, but hopefully numbers will rise agin once the breeding season starts.

Best dwarf pear or apple?

Patience is very much a virtue when it comes to growing fruit trees, Jess!

That is particularly true for bare-root trees and even if they do crop in the first year after planting, you should remove the fruit as soon as it forms as it is vital that the roots get established first.  However, if you are really impatient and want fruit this year, you could buy a 3 or 4 year old tree which has been grown all of it's life in a pot (if you can afford it - they come at a premium!)

canker in Rowan tree

It might be tricky growing any kind of tree in the same position as a felled tree of that age, as trees tend to deplete the soil around them.  If you have removed the roots as far as possible (eg having them ground out) and replace a lot of the soil in the area, you may be ok.

As far as the canker disease goes, you should avoid planting any of the Rosaceae family, which includes a lot of trees and shrubs, including Rowan.  See the wiki entry for Rosaceae and avoid anything mentioned in it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosaceae

Some kind of Birch, Beech or Oak would probably be ok. 

Veg beds at front - how to make them attractive

You can upload from an iPhone to somewhere like ImageShack, using an "App".  You'll get a link which you can copy.  Then, back on the upload screen from this site, click "An external site" and paste that link into where it says "URL".  At least I thnk that's a way to do it, not having an iPhone myself!

Forum names

So figrat, you're named after one of a group of opera dancers?

My forum nym is pretty boring.  Like Frank, I had a few fails when signing up on the old BBC gardening board, at the time 'Bob The Builder' came to TV, and this one wasn't taken.  Some folk call me that anyway in 'real life'.

I know my writing style usually comes across as a bit formal, but I do have a good SOH and often find myself having a good old giggle when reading some of these threads!

Veg beds at front - how to make them attractive

Hi Red Dahlia, you could try emulating the French potager style.  For early in the year you could grow lettuces which come in a wide range of colours and by arranging them in patterns they can look very attractive, perhaps interspersed with beetroot, with its red veined leaves.  Swiss chard comes in a few bright colours, the most common being a red one (ruby chard) and one called bright yellow.  You can sow chard both early and quite late with a late sowing often surviving through the winter.  Savoy cabbages (mid green through to dark blue/green) planted in a pattern could look good all winter.  For summer, try coloured cauliflowers.  You could even plant espaliered fruit trees (typically apples) acting as low fences to separate the beds.  The best thing is you can eat everything (unlike some real French potager gardens where they never actually eat the stuff - that attitude doesn't have any place in my garden!)  The above are just a few of the possibilites which come to mind.  There are lots of veg which can be grown for their attractive look, as well as for food.

Lynchis ('Ragged Robin')

It probably depends on variety.  My chalcedonica grew to about 3 feet tall and went down in the wind unless staked.

Lynchis ('Ragged Robin')

I've grown Lychnis chalcedonica from T&M seeds sown in spring.  They took two seasons to flower well and needed staking, but only lasted about 5 years although that may be down to them not liking my clay soil much, or perhaps not getting enough sun (I planted them by an East-facing hedge, so they only got full sun for about half a day.)

Help

That looks like it could be a dwarf weeping cherry.  If so, it will soon be covered in beautiful pink blossom!  They don't need much in the way of pruning, just cut the ends off of any branches which are growing too far outwards (eg overhanging a path.)  You can see that it has been pruned like that before. If it is what I think it is, best to wait until after it has finished flowering before doing any pruning.

is will you use the extra hour next weekend

I'll be able to do a bit in the garden after getting home from work, so welcome it in that respect.  Unfortunately, it takes me weeks before my disrupted sleep pattern adjusts, so I'd prefer them to simply stop messing about and leave us at BST (ie GMT +1) permanently!

Bee spotting

New deliveries

Flower ID

Oh no, lily beetles are back!