Search - Articles

(no matter how beautifully photographed) is just about the most horrible shrub in the world. There. I've said it.It is not just the flowers —which are a particularly unforgiving, almost violent shade of yellow — but the timing. We are awash

in Britain. Although there are about 250 species of hoverfly in the UK, and roughly 100 of them are black and yellow wasp mimics, this one is immediately recognizable by its narrow parallel-sided body shape and the fact that some abdominal segments have two

it in gardens.Quite why so many of the flowers in our gardens during these early months of the year are yellow, I don't know. Winter flowering jasmine has been followed by forsythia (don't get James Alexander-Sinclair started on this again), daffodils have

and yellowing leaves from Brussels sprouts to stop disease spreadingSow seeds the following crops outside or under cloches: carrots, beetroot, broad beans, salad onions, cauliflowers, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, spinach, leeks, lettuce, rocket, coriander, mixed

greenhouse tomatoes to deter whiteflySet up a 'watering bench' using capillary matting to look after pot plantsSow seeds of Christmas cherry (solanum) to grow as winter pot plantsHang yellow sticky traps in the greenhouse to help control whitefly Thin out

Damp down the floor every morning and open ventsWater tomatoes regularly to prevent fruits splittingSow Primula malacoides and P. obconica for flowering pot plants next springHang yellow sticky traps in the greenhouse to help control whitefly

Hang up yellow sticky traps to monitor and control whitefly and other flying pestsFeed begonias and other plants in potsTreat red spider mite with a biological controlTie ripening melons to sturdy supportsPot on rooted cuttings to keep plants growing

and out before putting up bubble polythene for insulationSow hardy annuals, like calendulas, in pots for early displaysCheck bulbs, corms and tubers in store for signs of rotWater sparingly in winter, taking care not to splash water aroundPick yellowing

Cut back overgrown honeysucklePick berried winter shrubs, flowers and evergreen leaves for seasonal decorations indoorsPlant bare-rooted hedging, roses, trees and shrubsPick faded flowers and yellowing leaves from pansies and winter bedding

are then infected, they too eventually turn yellow and drop. If not dealt with, the plant will weaken.Rose black spot is very similar and can be dealt with in the same way.Leaves are marked with purple or brownish-black spots, then turn yellow and fall. Smaller