obelixx

Causing offence on this forum

With the exception of known trolls and sock puppets, I agree.

The majority of posters here are either people with genuine queries that deserve the best answers we can give or people with experience that can be of great help and who give of their knowledge freely.  Long may such exchanges of advice and opinions continue.

Best to remember though that we all read posts in our own tone of voice and not that of the poster so sometimes posts can seem flippant, abrupt, off-hand or downright rude.  We should be careful when posting and thick-skinned when reading.

Mysterious unknown plants

The 4th is chelone - deep green foliage and pink flowers in late summer and likes shade.  There's also a white form available but the pink version is stronger.  Mine is very happy and spreading slowly.  I love it.  It looks great next to a big fat hosta Sum and Substance.

The third looks like spiraea douglasii .

Rejuvinating old roses

Yes, leave it till Feb/March depending on how cold your area and the winter turn out to be.   Then start by cutting out all obvioulsy dead wood plus broken, damaged or twiggy growth and then assess what you have left.

Prune the remaining stems down to outward facing buds to maintain an open form that allows air to flow and reduces disease.  Feed them generously with blood, fish and bone, or pelletd chicken manure as general fertilisers for good growth then add some rose or tomato fertiliser as these encourage flowers.

Digging problem

Your soil may well be choked with roots from the shrubs and weeds so a rotivator may also be hard work.  As berghill says, a decent fork will pierce the soil more easily than a spade.  A stainless steel one is better than an ordinary metal one and a small one is better for your back than a large one.

Whatever you decide, break the soil up into chunks before the winter frosts, toss on loads of well rotted manure or garden compost and leave the worms and frosts to sort it out over winter.  It'll then be easier to work in the spring but you'll have to make sure any new plants are kept watered over their first year as their roots won't have had time to penetrate deep for water and nutrients..

clematis montana

Probably just confused by a long, cool, wet summer with low light levels.

Giant Scabious

The giant scabious finishes flowering earlier than the field scabious and other smaller varieties.  Nor does mine seem to replenish itself if I dead head as each flower goes over.    Unless you want new plants from seed, cut off the flower spikes as soon as they've finished.  Take them down as low as you like so the cut is hidden in the foliage.

Then just leave them be.  The foliage will die down as autumn gets under way and the plant will go dormant for the winter.  Once it's all gone brown, you can cut it all off and compost it.   

Helping plants through Winter

It depends on how cold you expect to get.  We have severe winters with regular dips to -20C and well below on occasion so I move all my pots into the barn or the greenhouse.. I wait till their foliage has died down, clear it away and then just trundle them all in when dormant.  No watering. 

I've never lost a hosta but last winter, which wasn't the worst by a long chalk, I lost all my agapanthus and an acer because, after an early warm spell, we had heavy frosts just after they'd started growing again and been watered and fed.  This year several hostas were turfed out into the garden and the pots planted up with annuals and pelargonius which will die anyway and go to the great compost heap - thus reducing the need for pot stashing.

Ideas required for climbers over metal archway

You could try Betty Corning which is a scented, group 3 clematis which flowers in summer - http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/new-clemdetail.cfm?dbkey=562   Group 3 means she flowers on new season's wood so is cut back very low in early spring and all the old stems and foliage are removed.

If you want an evergreen clematis with scent you need to find something like Apple Blossom - http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/new-clemdetail.cfm?dbkey=114 or maybe this one http://www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/new-clemdetail.cfm?dbkey=151 

I have two very good scented honeysuckles, one deep purpley and pink and one creamy and yellow - but Ican't tell you their names as their labels are long gone.  However, clematis associate very well with roses so have a look at small ramblers such as Malvern Hills from David Austin.  This one has soft yellow, fading to cream flowers that are pleasantly perfumed.

Snails - the French have the right idea

Digitalis (foxgloves), aconitum (monks' hood) are poisonous so left alone by slugs and snails.  They don't like hairy or highly scented foliage or anything oin the rosacae family which includes more than just roses.

Howevre, a goo dtip is to scatter wildlife friendly slug pellets (not metaldehyde based) around your garden on St Valentine's Day or the Ides of March or some other date that's easy to remember in early spring and repeat every 2 weeks till June.  This way you'll get them as they emerge from hibernation, as they hatch and before they get the chance to scoff your treasures and breed again.

clematus problem

That's good news.   Gardeners have to be both patient and optimistic.

Give it a good feed next spring and you should get a good show next summer.

Encouraging bats in our gardens

Beechgrove this weekend

Weekend 22 March

Good Morning - 21 March

Choosing chillies

Hanging baskets and window boxes

New shed - any tips?