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oh ok thats sad i was quite excited and hoping for fruit with all the leaves it had produced. should i just leave the leaves ?

I see this issue as similar to food waste. There has been a lot of discussion for years about food waste in the UK and the retailers' role in trying to reduce this, plus charities that collect and use surplus food. Yes, it is a first-world problem in that there are many parts of the world where...

The petals don’t look right to me for the native hawthorn neither do the pronounced veins in the leaves. There are other hawthorns with which I am not so familiar with. The berries of each are very different.

I suggest you get a sheet of that rusty mesh that builders use for reinforcing concrete. It makes great trellis. In your case, I would bend it into an upside down U and then attach it to two opposite sides of your bed. You can then tie the stems to grow up the mesh and use old tights or...

I like planting on mass and repetition but don't do much planning. I only have one border that isn't grown in and it's along our boundary in full sun. This bed has a few permanent plants but most are annuals, so it can change massively from year to year bit always directed towards wildlife. I...

If it’s not slugs it’s likely to be snails. Snails can be tiny so look carefully at the base of the leaves and remove them. I have a couple of Hostas with similar damage and found the culprit to be a snail.

After planting seeds from Tesco tomatoes (Piccobella) I found they were super quick to germinate, up within a few days. Piccobella are rather nice, bit pricy at £2 for 220g (presently £3 for 2 Clubcard price). You've got nothing to lose with planting SM seeds and could have a lot to gain. It's...

I've never been to Powis, wonderful views.

Mine illustrate that very well - all "Outdoor Girl", and sown at the same time. On the left, planted out today after being in a coldframe in small pots since the beginning of the month. On the right, all the same conditions except I planted them out last weekend. And in the second photo, same...

Yes - they seed very easily too. Many areas are having problems with ash dieback, although we're fairly lucky round here, but it's probably better to remove them. You can certainly try just cutting them back as soon as they appear, but you may find a problem if there's a good bit of root already...