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Caterpillar Identification Help please? :)
Good afternoon We recently bought some silver birch trees, the leaves are pretty holey and eaten but they are otherwise healthy trees (also on offer :) ) This morning we found this gang of acrobatic caterpillars having their breakfast. We'd love to know what they are, google search is leaning towards sawfly…
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Ditch Erosion repair advise
Hello , I have a rainwater ditch at the end of my garden which has a steady stream of
water running down it constantly . It is slowly eroding away the bed of
the ditch which is undermine my erosion defence wall . what I would like
to do is put some sand on the ditch bed just to raise it up by about 18 inches
. I want to…
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Removing ivy from a wall...
What's the best/most effective way of removing ivy from a wall and around a window? Is it a good idea to try to kill it off first either by cutting the vines/creepers off at ground level, or by using weedkiller? Or is it a simple question of applied elbow grease and hard work? Thanks (PS - I'm no gardener! I just want rid…
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Aloe Vera gel
Hi, my plant was getting a bit out of hand (too big) so I decided to cut the leaves & take the sap as I had read somewhere it's good for things. Unfortunately, there seems to be a lot of conflicting advice. Anyone know the best thing to use it for (and how long can I keep it in the fridge) Thanks.
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Additional/fine netting over veg
We have netting over some of our veg but I think we need something even finer. Has anyone used net curtain? If so have you found anywhere that sells it by the roll, or in decent quantities? Thanks Jo
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Blackberry - "Victoria" ?
Listening to "Farming Today" on R4 this morning and they were at a fruit farm in Kent where thya are growing a newish blackberry Victoria, big & sweet.https://clockhousefarm.co.uk/blackberries/ Set me thinking and Googling, seems it's new but I just can't find any plants for sale, my quuestion is has anyone seen any? or is…
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Planned Asparagus. Which green manure?
Hi all. I've had my allotment for a year now and plan to grow asparagus. I left it a year to be sure I knew where to locate it and I've been growing asparagus plants from seed. The spot I have earmarked currently is half full of potatoes and half empty. I would like to sow green manure in the empty half now and over the…
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Pond Filter mats
Help please, We are looking for some replacement mats for our 30 Yamitsu pond thingy. The mats are around 35" x 18" and I can't find anything near that. There are 4 mats to the set and one is badly damaged but we want to replace the lot. Any ideas please. We will try a couple of pond shops but would rather buy online to…
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What is this?
This grew from some compost that I bought. Can anyone tell me what it is? I thought it was going to be a cucumber plant as the leaves are pretty much the same.
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Yellow weeds in lawn
Our lawn is covered in patches of weeds with tiny yellow flowers What are they likely to be and how do we get rid of them?
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Awkward area
I've inherited this awkward messy area adjacent to patio drain and lawn. The lawn slopes down slightly here too. I need a low-cost, low-skills idea to tidy it up and keep the rubbish out of the drain. (I can't build walls, do paving etc!). This part of the garden faces north east, so morning sun, then shade. I considered…
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Peony
I have a peony that has sentimental value, plus produces wonderful deep red blooms. Or should. it’s moved with me several times so one of the few things I actually know about gardening is how to move a peony. My ex, although a good gardener, doesn’t know how to do it, so when he potted it up for me to bring to my new flat…
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Holly problems (Photo).
This Holly seems to have shed a lot of it’s leaves and now looks very sparse. Is it dying? It has sentimental value so I’d really like to save it. Could it be lack of water? It’s been so wet here I didn’t water it but maybe it wasn’t getting enough. I’ve been drenching it for the last few days but I’m not sure if that’s…
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Tree preservation orders
One of the blissful things in hot weather are the 2 huge trees that shade our house. Neither are on our property but I wonder if there's something that one might want to do to ensure they have a TPO. Well one in fact already does so is not an issue (except for the people who live directly underneath it and hate it) So the…
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PELARGONIUMS
I'm interested in having a large Pelargonium, but do not have a greenhouse, only a few small cold frames which are limited in height, so problem in winter protection. My back garden faces directly south, so always obtains the most sunshine. I did read in a short article that some Pelargoniums are perennial? but the article…
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Should I add this 'stuff' to my soil?
Hi all.I've recently collected a good number of barrow-loads of nice-looking topsoil from a nearby house that was having an extension built. It looks like great stuff, really dark, fine and crumbly, and the guy confirmed it was good soil, but suggested adding some compost to it too. It's going to go in a raised bank which…
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Pond Snails Any Good?
I have a garden pond that i used to have for fish however it is now just a weedy pond full of newts, i want to keep it for the newts as a wildlife pond but i have to cut back most of the plants in the winter because it becomes too full. I recently heard that pond snails can eat some of the algae and weed, i have some…
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Outdoor dining set
Hi, we are looking to buy a garden dining set. "L" shaped space, so two sofas in an "L" with a joining corner piece, two bench seats. Total seating 8 places. Table big enough to accommodate 8 places, preferably one of those clever tables that lower and raise for casual and/or dining. A bit like this: There are deals to be…
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Flower identification
I wonder if someone can tell me what this little beauty is. It is nestling amongst weeds and grass.
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Turf on stone and sand
Hi, We are currently having our garden done. The current plan is to have artificial grass put down as we have dogs and felt it would be better. However after looking at a few sites last night I read that in the summer/heat the artificial grass can become a lot hotter than grass and can bubble/shrink. Appreciate there's no…
