diggingdoris

A - Z for the beginner

I have the RHS 'garden plants and flowers-an  A-Z guide to the best plants for yoyr garden'. by Ian Spence. List price £19.99 on the cover. Mine was a present, but it's my favourite book of all my gardening ones, with big pictures and lots of info.10/10

Oh no, lily beetles are back!

I've got 6 pots full of lilies and have not found one bug yet. I think they are keeping hidden out of the rain! But the spray is at hand!

Talkback: Ground elder

I have it coming under the fence from next door and try to dig it up as soon as I spot it. Think I'll have some killer handy for the summer months as it tends to grow rapidly then. I would not put it in my compost bin, as the blighter is rampant given half a chance and would not want it all over the garden. It's the dustbin for my bits!

Trachelospermum

I put a trach.jasmine in last May and mine does not look good either. Most of the stems have brown leaves on and only a few green leaves left at the bottom near the soil. I'm hoping it will improve when the weather warms up.

Poorly lawn

Thanks Alina, gooness knows when that will be as we've had rain again overnight and as I speak guess what --it's raining!

Poorly lawn

We have had so much rain here in Essex, ( ha ha drought!) and I have had a problem finding a dry spell to cut the lawn. I managed to do it yesterday as we had a dry morning for a change, but then I noticed these problems. We are on clay here and it takes forever to soak away after a downpour. The border edges are full to the top with water and there is something growing in it that looks like blanket weed. Green and fluffy/slimy. Also there are patches on the lawn that have a black mould/slime on the soil. I know these are both the result of so much rain but what can I do? The whole lawn area was piped and bore holes dug and filled with stones, before it was laid 40 years ago as we knew how clayey it was, but in all these years I've never seen it so bad. With more heavy rain forecast for the rest of the week here I don;t know what to do for the best.

white lilac?

I have a white lilac 'Madame Lemoine' and the leaves do not look anything like yours. Is the white flower on the picture on the same plant?. Maybe a picture of the blossom would help.

cordiline palm

Thankyou GM for your valuable advice. Will try splitting the green one after this cold spell.

cordiline palm

I have several growing from the base of my one. The trunk looked soggy so I cut it down to half size, then it started shooting these babies. I was terrified of splitting them apart and losing them all, but if it's that easy I'll give it a try.

P.S. Mine are still in a cold greenhouse and not sure when to bring them outside. Especially don't want to lose the pink stripey one-'electric pink' I think it is. Should I wait till all frost gone?

planting out runner beans

I think we were all fooled into thinking spring was here back in March with that warm spell. That's what set me off planting too early. I was hoping for an earlier than usual harvest, but realise now that's not really possible. Just trying to get a new lot of runners to chit on some damp kitchen roll in the airing cupboard!

Statue identification

Ericacious lilies?

flowering rhubarb

Hypericum Magical Red Star Pruning?

Scrapbook problems

When to prune

Buddleia pruning?

Photos hiding text

Wintering Fuchsias

cucumber numbers

Deutzia dilemma

buried snails

Non climbing beans

Trachelospermum jasminoides

Poorly Aucuba