Elizabeth Bellis-Sheldon

Talkback: 2013 in the garden

Like you I don't like marigolds but I found an old bed beneath massive & dense weeds in the front of our French cottage bordering a road. The bed has very poor soil & is very dry, I chucked marigold seeds around with gay abandon & unfortunately I forgot them for weeks whilst making new borders around the rest of the cottage but when I did check on them they were magnificent & flowered abundently with very little care right through until the first frost in November. Bad soil, very hot, 2,500ft above sea level & they still performed - marvellous!

Talkback: Removing weeds

i must admit I laughed on reading your advice to get rid of dandylions, here in France they make up the famous Fields of Gold & in the meadow at the bottom of our garden we have millions in flower. We have decided they are beautiful & given up on the impossibility of getting rid of them & just live with them, the same goes for moss, with forests full of it all around its impossible to get rid of it & as for clover, the other field bounding our garden is carefully sown annually with it, get rid of it, no chance. In short, what can't be cured must be endured or at least change of attitude from unwanted weeds to glorious colour. Good luck with your weeding!

Rabbits

Rabbits are a big problem here in rural France.  The only control method because most properties are surrounded by farmland is to contact the local hunting group.  I have read that urine sprayed around the boundaries deters foxes, wonder if it applies to rabbits as well?

Talkback: Removing weeds

i must admit I laughed on reading your advice to get rid of dandylions, here in France they make up the famous Fields of Gold & in the meado...