rosa rugosa

pruning lavender

i will try burying a lavender to get some new plants!  but i'm pleased to say that the lavenders i cut back so hard are now sprouting from near the base, and do not seem to be dying.  i'll try to be a bit more brutal with my prune after the flowering so that they don't get so leggy again.  thanks for all the advice! 

pruning lavender

my lavender bushes have grown a bit straggly.  i know the advice is to trim them all over in autumn, but only the new season's growth.  i did that last autumn, to the older bushes, but over the winter there has been some dieback of the new growth even on the untrimmed bushes, and there is lots of dead material in the middle of the bushes, and there old dead branches that died the previous winder.  this gets all soggy when it's wet, and i can't imagine that the lavender is happy, although they seem perky when the sun shines.  so today, in the rain, i cut back most of the dead wood, even quite thick branches, and trimmed out the new growth that had died back, and gave them all a haircut all over.  i hope they survive!  did i do the wrong thing?  does anyone else do this?  

Black spot on roses

here in Switzerland (and we are in a very damp and misty area), the rose centre recommends spraying with a copper-based fungicide very early in the spring.  It's harmful to insects, so only the one spray is recommended.  it's too late to do it now, so maybe for next year?  the rose expert told me to spray the rose and the ground around it liberally, and always to remove old leaves.  then a feeding of potash in spring, to build up the immune system.  after that, if the black spot is bad, proprietary fungicides.  they spray every two weeks, as their roses have to look good.  but i'd rather not.  i think i will root out the most susceptible roses and replace them more robust ones.

wasps nest

thanks for the info.  it sounds as though we should just leave them.  i could do with some help in the garden, i hope they eat vine weavil!  but i suppose not, as those come out at night.

wasps nest

we have a new nest high up on the wall of our house, which is clad in wood.  everyone says one should get rid of them, as they will damage the cladding.  is that true?  if they nest in the eaves, and get into the attic, is that a problem?  as long as they are not doing any damage to the material of the house, i don't mind them being there, so the question is, do we leave them be, or should we remove them?  

mosquitos breeding in the rainwater butt

i can definitively say that dishwashing liquid in a water butt, a lot of it, does not kill mosquito larvae.  i suppose you would not put a lid on the water butt if you kept a goldfish in it.  but i wonder how happy it would be?  well, why not, if you make it cosy!  but i will try the oil next.  thanks for all the tips!  

mosquitos breeding in the rainwater butt

yes that's what i fear too, but i'll try it.  don't really want to expose myself and kids to insecticide unnecessarily, so that will be my last option.  what about dishwashing liquid?  a teaspoon in a small sprayer definitely kills aphids.  i wonder if it would work on mossie larvae?  

mosquitos breeding in the rainwater butt

thanks all, for the useful advice.  i will try the oil first.  we have mega mossies here.  they have such an itchy bite, or maybe it's just how i react to them.  the itch lasts for weeks.  the fish idea is cute too!   i'd have to leave the lid off though, and then you get all the algae and stuff.......  we did have some goldfish in the pond, and  i never saw a mossie larva there.  we have lots of dragon fly nymphs, and i think they do the job too.    

about snails - i used ferrous-based slug pellets around all the plants that are particularly precious to me, at least until they are large enough to take a bit of snail pruning.  and now i go around every evening, and spear the slugs with sharp sticks, which i then chuck in the compost.  i never used to be so merciless until i got my first lupins and clematis!  

Coverage of Hampton Court Flower Show

what's wonderful is when the city councils start to incorporate more insect-friendly plants into the minicipal parks and gardens.  we should all lobby our local councils to move away from "plastic" plants to a more natural way of gardening, and not wait for the RHS to take the lead.  

mosquitos breeding in the rainwater butt

thanks for the quick reply!  how much cooking oil do you put in?  mine is a 200 litre butt, and quite wide at the top.  do you need to have a film of oil completely covering the surface, or just enough to have some slicks floating around?  

pruning lavender

mosquitos breeding in the rainwater butt

perrenial foxgloves?

White broom/cytisus albus dying