ClaireCat

When to plant spring bulbs

I know its about the time to plant them.  I have some aliums and tulips, but with the weird weather we have had everything seems very late in flowering, so I have summer flowers, like geraniums, gazanias, coleus where I want the bulbs to be in spring.  Shall I chuck all my flowers now and put the bulbs in?

Weeds from next door

I have an antisocial neighbour that has lived there several years.  They are unapproachable and live in a hovel. I have nettles and bindweed invading my flower border.  I try to pull up what I can, but there is a network of spaghetti roots in the soil and under the fence between us. Sometimes I end up pulling up my own plants. I also have tried spraying with weed killer and again have to be careful of my own plants, especially the woody shrubs etc.  Any tips please?

What's the strangest thing you have ever grown in a pot?

I nutured a thistle once!  I was told I couldn't grow sweetcorn in a pot.  So I bought a pot of seedlings and planted them in a reasonable sized pot, they have grown well and I am waiting for six cobs to ripen - not bad, as i did plant them late, IN A POT, and lost a few of the seedlings. As I have a small flower garden, I grow runner beans in a pot too.

Keeping Cats and Wildlife apart?

I was interested in the article about Cats in this months magazine as I have two.  The way I keep them away from the birds is to feed the birds in the front garden - its tiny but all the wildlife is out there, frogs, toads, etc, the cats have to go round the block so they prefer to watch them from the kitchen window.  It keeps the cats occupied and the birds safe.  The other thing is to make the back garden somewhere your cats want to be so they are not wandering off and annoying other gardeners. I have a small garden, but there are a couple of trees for shelter , I have installed access ramps, both ends of the sheds where they like to sit, another upto the tree where there is a perch for them, they also have a little "house" they can sit on top of or inside and a pergola with a gravel board shelf they like to sit on too. So there are resting places, observing places, and long grasses for them to nibble.  A clean tray indoors stops them toileting outside too. Thanks

When to plant spring bulbs

Weeds from next door

Keeping Cats and Wildlife apart?