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Thank you @On the Levels, those small irises really do have one of the best blues in the garden, shame they don’t last long .

Women bearing 5,6,7 or more children are not unusual even now. Not all will survive to become adults particularly in countries where contraception aid, maternal and general health care is poor or non existent as well as a poor economy. Men can obviously father many times that number and it...

Have you considered replacing the hedge on your arch with a flowering climber like a rose or clematis? You would get quick growth and welcoming colour.

That one’s a good vibrant blue @Clare G, now on my list .

First bloom of 2026, Hibiscus Red Pagoda ...There s a Standrad Red and an April Yellow to open soon.

Landrace Gardening by Joseph Lofthouse is an interesting book about this kind of thing.

I think I poked them vertically into the compost. If I remember rightly they're quite big and easy to handle individually. If you have lots of seed you could try different ways and see what works for you.

One thing I would do if I was planning my garden anew is to put a paved path all around the outside, wide enough to stand a stepladder on or push a wheelbarrow. It provides safe access to the back of the borders for weeding and to hedges and fences for trimming. You think it is going to take up...

It needs a good prune, I'd remove perhaps half the branches coming from the base, any crossing branches and any obviously dead growth. I wonder if it could be a red currant rather than a black currant.

Something I’ve done for years but a few years back, the Levington compost I got was so damn woody that the germination was really poor. Usually, I’d just scatter some seeds on the top of a pot full of compo then rake them in with my hand. Got a different method now.

So just had a look what tomato seeds I have.1x Gardeners Delight 2x Red Cherry (free with Gardener’s World Magazine)** 2x Roma 1x Alicante** 1x Red Cherry 1x Hildares* 1x Marmande (opened)*Expired 2024 **Expired 2025

Thank you for the replies, really appreciate the insights and advice