figrat

Greenhouse Advice

Just a point re drainage- my greenhouses are on hard standing, so when we laid the concrete for the base to go on, we greased small lengths of bamboo, and concreted over them. When the greenhouse was put up, we slid out the bamboos leaving channels for excess water to drain away.

Make do and mend

Just remembered, years ago I cut an old copper immersion tank in half, one half houses a corkscrew hazel, the other a big hebe. I use the spiral element as a support for a courgette.

Tasty Tips

Yup, I've left the last of my leeks to run to seed. They're in front of a clump of ornamental alliums, so hopefully will prolong the display, but hadn't thought of using them as cut flowers/ salad additions. Maybe I'll try that with some, and leave the rest to ripen their seed which I'll use next year.

On this subject, I'm very partial to nasturtium flowers in a mixed salad. Roll on summer!

What plant is this?

Yes, creeping buttercup leaves do look rather like those of hardy geraniums, but I think the clumping habit here is typical of the geranium.

Weed or not?

That's alchemilla mollis, lady's mantle in the foreground - it has frothy green/ yellow flowers, which do seed around the place - if you want to limit the spread, cut off the flowers before they run to seed.

The leaves can look a bit tatty after flowering, so I tend to cut the whole plant back very hard then, a new flush of fresh green leaves will soon emerge.

The pink flowered plant at the back is an aquilegia, which can also be cut back hard after flowering for a fresh flush ofleaves and a second flowering if you're lucky. They're both perennial cottage garden type plants.

honey suckle not flowering

Are you giving it any special attention, as in feeding it etc? The reason that I'm asking is that overeeding some plants encourages them to put on leaf growth rather than producing flowers.

What plant is this?

Looks like a peony if I turn my head to the left. Have a look for greenfly which the ants may be farming.

grubs problem

From the pic, could be juvenile earthworms (good) or juvenile slugs (bad).

Acer flamingo

Umm...don't seem to be any photos. But I'd guess the unusual green shoot is a reversion, and probably needs removing.

grubs problem

Pictures would be helpful...but I think the culprit may well be slugs/snails. 

Bay tree root eradication

Plan bee

Overwintered runner bans

Red rhubarb leaves

What can I use as green manure?