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Ideas for tall plants for screening between properties without too much horizontal spread
Background: when we moved into our property, there were some large evergreen trees in the garden of the house next door effectively screening our house from theirs. (The property is currently rented out, and faces onto the road behind us, so our houses are sort of back to back). Last summer the landlord had the trees…
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Overwintering Dahlias
I bought some reduced price Dahlias from the seed merchant I use and planted them in pots. This was for a supply of cut flowers. They have done very well and I wondered if I could just cut them back and leave them in the pots ( in a shed) rather than lifting them and drying them off to store them. The compost they are in…
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Material for fruit cage
HiI am trying to source 4 numbers of 2-2.5 metre metal pole/tube/rod to make a fruit cage structure.Plan is to erect four of them and put a pvc pipe in a curved manner on top of two of them to get an arch shape.Where can I source these for cheap or if possible for free?Many Thanks
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Help me identify this conifer please
Hello gardeners, Could you please help me figure out what this conifer is? It’s about 10 years old, 6 foot tall and 4 foot diameter. Previous owners of the house kept it trimmed so it could have been bigger/ could be older. It’s planted at the front of our house and I’m trying to decide if it could be responsible for some…
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What is this???
Can someone tell me what on earth this is? On land at the back of my house that is north facing and always damp. (The colour is much darker than pics) it has only appeared in last few days and I had it last year too but I'm not sure if it was the same time of year. The beads are black in colour and a bit shiny - they…
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Recommendations please for a small ornamental tree for a front garden
Hi, we are in the process of organising a front garden make over and would appreciate any recommendations for a small ornamental tree that we could plant. The garden is east facing and I would guess the soil is largely sandy. We did inherit a Rowan tree originally but it was in totally the wrong place - too close to the…
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How to turn my Port Laurel into a tree?
Hi all.I'm about to plant a Portuguese Laurel, which is currently around 5+ feet tall. I'll be keeping its ultimate height to around, ooh, 15', and by then would like it to look like a 'tree'. Ie, a trunk - say around 1m to 1.5m high (yes, mixing my units :-( ) - with a natural canopy above, not a 'ball' but a natural…
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Rust on Geraniums/Pelargoniums
This happens every year. This year I looked up what to do as I have some nice ones that sometimes flower a bit through the winter and are really filling the pots. It suggests to cut off all affected leaves and spray with neem oil. Has anyone tried this?Did it work or does anyone have soloutions they found worked please?…
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Burnt hedge caused by contractors - advice please
Hey guys. So a subcontractor for Virgin Media recently did some pipework related works on the pavement outside my dad's property and in the process of doing this, managed to burn my dad's hedge (the burn area is approx 3.5 metres left to right, and 80 centimetres high at it's tallest point). The company responsible has…
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Are these mining bees, digging wasps or something else and how can I get rid of them?
They're leaving lots of hills and patches of sand which is making the lawn an eyesore. I've uploaded photos of the hills as well as trying to capture the bees/wasps here. What are they and any suggestions on how to remove them? I tried to basically hose them down but they appeared again the next day. Would adding lawn…
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Bugs, caterpillars or ?? eating my magnolia leaves
So 2 years now my potted Magnolia has been defoliated. Now it's getting so it isn't recovering. I've just taken it out of the pot and found snails, woodlice and at the last minute on the old compost some black bugs that had abdomen, thorax and head and scuttled slowly.They aren't any of the usual beetles I've been…
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weeds advise?
Check out below image, i am seeing this kind lot of weeds in my grass lawn. How to rid off for long term?
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Cinnamon as bug deterrent and grow booster?
Hello. I've read in several places that cinnamon mixed into the soil can keep bugs off houseplants and help boost growth. Great if so, but I'm suspicious it could be a nice-sounding myth. Does anyone use cinnamon in their houseplants potting soil and can you shed some light? Thank you.
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Will removing lower branches of a Portuguese Laurel make it grow faster?
Hi all.I'm about to plant a couple of PortLaurels to provide some screening. They are currently around 5-6' tall, with quite a few branches coming off, and are a tapered, Christmas-Tree, shape.Since they aren't the prettiest of trees, I was thinking that I'd like them more 'conventional' tree-shaped - ie a trunk with wider…
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Seed and weed?
Hello! First time posting on this section :) With the hot weather etc my gardens took a little bit of a hit. I am planning on getting the lawn mower out over the next few days but I've noticed that on the front garden there are lots of weeds, and on the back garden its quite patchy. We've used a aerator recently but I'm…
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Pergola plants in pots
(as opposed to in the ground, but I couldn't think of any 'p' words to explain that!) I will soon be getting a pergola built in my back garden, and am planning what plants to grow and train over it - I'm thinking maybe clematis and/or honeysuckle, but there's more research to be made. However, at the same time I will also…
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Making terrariums the MoneySaving way
I've been to a couple of terrarium workshops - they are not cheap. I'd love to learn how to make them at home without an expensive kit. Please give me your detailed tips. A few questions: - How do you get the balance of ingredients right? Are things like charcoal really needed? - Where do you get terrarium-appropriate…
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Sycamore and some type of conker tree seedlings
Hi. Last September there were sycamore and some type of conker seeds on the floor next to my child‘s school. We decided to collect some and plant them in pots at home to see what would happen (it was as much to teach patience and how nature works/not works as anything else). This spring we found two conkers had started to…
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Front garden makeover - opinions please
We live on a corner plot which originally had an open front lawn (no fence or walls etc.) Due to the local 'yoof' walking across the lawn to cut the corner we decided to plant a privet hedge around the perimeter about 18 months ago. This was not particularly successful with the privets flourishing in parts and struggling…
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Orchids
I have been given a lovely orchid. The leaves are gradually turning yellow and have to be removed. Any ideas for best treatment please
