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. Then one morning, a shadow, a brown shape...a hedgehog. Whoops!Released to continue feeding on my slugs (yes, even the editor of Gardeners' World Magazine has slugs in his garden - but not many!), the humane trap was reset, and the waiting continued

when they're going short of moisture on hot days by starting to droop. Secondly they need food, and I mix in a liquid feed at least once a week to top up reserves in the compost. And thirdly you must deadhead. This can be viewed as a chore

greenhouse cucumbers always succumb to red spider mite. Hostas act like a magnet to the local snail population.Well, I'm not having this! I've been fighting back, organically of course, especially on crops I'm going to eat or feed the family.How disappointing

mainly flies), but in the past I've seen wasps and tortoiseshell butterflies eagerly making the most of this final feed of nectar before hibernating.Fatsia japonica is an exotic looking evergreen shrub with large glossy, lobed leaves. Despite its tropical

water once a week or so, and dunk the whole pot and roots right down for a good soak. They love it, especially when I add the occasional drop of liquid feed.Supermarkets and garden centres sell such wonderful phalaenopsis, and if you pay a little more

produces quite a bag of potato and vegetable peelings, and wrapped in newspaper these can feed my compost heap.Yes, newspaper can be composted, and so can plain cardboard including corrugated boxes, tubes from toilet and kitchen paper rolls as well as egg

'm after - and I usually am - then my only option is to buy plants.With at least another two months of enjoyment to come I'll just keep an eye on watering from now on, adding a liquid feed about once a week to keep plants growing strongly. Then I'll brush

 and John Innes No.3 loam-based compost. All this weight provides extra stability to prevent the trees catching the wind and toppling over. These acers are no more demanding than any plants in pots, and just need regular watering and feeding.The foliage

through the glazed back door for the first signs of pigeon activity, then gets our attention. As we open the door, Magic bolts past to scatter the pigeons back into surrounding trees. No risk of catching them, I'm afraid, but is does curtail their feeding

encourages flowers to form at the base of each of these pruned shoots.I regularly hear of people whose wisteria won't flower, but my plant flowers very reliably. Perhaps growing it in a pot helps, along with correct pruning, and feeding with a high potash