Shuv

Ground Cover Options?

How about hardy geraniums? Lovely flowers and the bees love them too.....

Raspberries

Just watch out for the runners from raspberries, I planted some along the edge of my garden a few years ago and they have been driving me mad as they are coming up in all my nearby veg beds!

Starlings not migrating

Hate to tell you but we had starlings nesting in our house wall (through a broken air vent) for 3 years and they never went anywhere!  They were there when we moved in here and just stayed all year making a terrible racket and the only way we got rid of them was to put up a new vent and block the hole one day when they had all flown out to my feeders! I love them in the garden now they don't wake me up every morning! But I have every sympathy for you, good luck! 

Bees

As well as all the great suggestions you've already had, I have a hardy geranium, and a jasmine (jasminium beesianum) that are both always crawling with bees. And a shrub they seem to love (and so do the birds) is Leycesteria.

Citrus orange

It should be fine Cody! I have an orange and a grapefruit in my unheated greenhouse and they are both growing very well and both fruited last year  If you feed it with a winter citrus feed that should help you with getting some fruit next year, good luck.

Get Rid of your Lawns

I guess it all depends on the type of lawn you have? Mine is full of daises, clover, etc and the birds and bees love it! I love the daisies particularly and would hate not to see all the bees buzzing around them. I am out there a lot and think the green is much more relaxing than any sort of paving/decking. I have a huge veg patch and lots of shrubs and perennials and think it all works very well together. Gardens are such an individual thing and I think you have to just go with what suits you and you are able to manage. 

no apples!

Me too! I am right down on South Coast, but this is the first year my Egremont Russett has had nothing on it But I do have 5 pears!! 

colour in a shady garden??

For a lovely shrub how about Pieris? They are evergreen and all different colours at different ties of year. I grew two in pots when I just had a little city courtyard gardens and they did really well. Also Pulmonaria I find are great, I have them on the shady side of my current garden and they seem to love it, They can get quite big though so be careful how close you plant them to other things!

Talkback: Seed germination

Talkback: Giant beetles

Talkback: Seed germination

Talkback: Giant beetles

Acer problems

Rust on garlic