Search - Articles

watering a week to keep plants growing stronglyBe vigilant for pests like red spider mite and take action against any right awayBuy narcissus, hyacinths and lachenalias to plant for indoor displaysSow poor man's orchid (schizanthus) to produce flowering

, the moment the symptoms appear. Wait a minimum of two weeks after spraying before using leaves in the kitchen.bay leavesmid- and late-springKeeping garden pests at bayWhiteflyMealybugsScale insectsRed spider mites

Chickweed, Stellaria media, is best thought of as a delicious rather than a pernicious weed. Its young leaves are packed with vitamins, so it makes a healthy addition to salads. However, it can also harbour greenfly and spider mite, so remove

specimen in the fox dollops that sometimes decorate my lawn, but dung beetles are not very common in my garden. So I was a bit surprised to see one in a spider web a few weeks back. It was Aphodius prodromus, at 5 or 6mm rather smaller than the huge 25

.Next is what looks like a tiny animated scrubbing brush; it's the larva of a beetle, Ctesias serra. Related to carpet beetles, it scavenges on bits of insects left by spiders that make their messy webs under loose bark on old trees. Its long bristles protect

on the camera easily outshone them.I particularly liked this jumping spider, guarding a wrinkled orange. At nearly 25mm long it was much bigger than our diminutive zebra. It kept turning to face me; I wasn't sure whether it was keeping an eye (or four) on me

Make a bug box for insects and give nature a helping hand within your garden. Using easy-to-find scraps of timber, old bamboo canes and old branches, it will cost you very little and provide the perfect habitat for beneficial insects such as spiders

. In severe cases, growth becomes distorted, leaves curl up, the plant weakens and can die.Natural predators, such as birds, earwigs, ladybirds, lacewings, hoverflies, ground beetles, spiders and parasitic wasps are a gardener's best allies. Some

and can be collected in the morning. Encourage natural predators, such as spiders and garden birds, especially starlings. Use the biological control Steinernema feltiae, which should be applied while the ground is still moist and warm in late

2007 will be remembered as a very good year for wasps. But before people start complaining about their vicious stings and bad tempers, I must point out that wasps are actually our friends. After birds and spiders, they are the most important insect