Garden Projects and DIY

Could do. Those are more perennial types though and, I believe, like a fair amount of water. I was thinking more the annuals in the Erinus group. These grow to about 15 cms tall. You won’t find them on sale till April or May usually, though some ebay sellers take pre-orders. If you get them...

We had the same situation as 66. Contacted the company. We do not do not supply spare panels was their response. This was despite a neighbour telling us it had arrived in kit form. Warned the public of this companies attitude on a well known review site. Taken down after a week as the company...

Yes @Sian in Belgium, I'm still part of the antique furniture here. A few members have gone but we had quite a few new members join last Spring - all welcome of course. I moved house five months ago. My health isn't what it was and I could no longer cope with the upkeep and maintenance of...

When you dig, pay attention to the colour of the material you remove. It is likely that you will find at least one layer of plastercine like texture, often due to consolidation while wet. If you find a layer that is grey/blue/green, that indicates that it contains vivianite, a mineral...

Thankyou very much for your suggestions, some great ones. I will have a look and play around with some ideas.Many thanks,E

Thank you for everyone's really helpful advice. The best deal I could find was with Gtech. Cost slightly over £50 (£56) with free, fast delivery. Have only drilled thick plastic pots so far, but very happy. Battery is 2.5ah. the drill seems solid. Cordless Combi Drill | Electric Power Tools | Gtech

If you trim conifers, you only take off the new growth, so to keep them at a height/size you like, that's the annual task. Once you cut back too far, that's when you have the problems as most won't recover from that. You can certainly prune the Pittosporum in all sorts of ways, so you may be...

The area to the back of us has a blanket TPO covering thousands of trees, set up in 1971. I've recently asked the council to review it as it's not appropriate to good tree health and they're looking very tatty and congested now. I don't think councils tend to use blanket TPOs now so that's a...

Thank you @fairygirl and @infradig never considered them getting eaten and I agree, I don't want too much of the same.

You could also try brushing hard with sharp sand or even a bag of lawn sand, which kills moss. Might be a lot cheaper if a lot more effort!

So its all finished for winter now, so we dont get muck everywhere. Will add soil and seed in the spring….

Inside the back garden structure with pizza oven and bbq

Hello Jordan, before you plant a rose, have you decided whether it's to be a bush or a trained climbing one? If the latter, you need to get some strong garden wire in place on the fence (2 or 3 horizontal wires about 30cm apart) so you can tie the long stems to them and the rose will flower all...

I've found when using SBK that it often works better when the plant is in growth, although autumn/winter is the recommended time, as @CarolineL states. I've used it for blackthorn stumps, and that worked far better than using it when they were dormant. I can't say if it would be suitable for...

If you want area for veg, consider constructing raised bed(s) across the slope as terraces, aim to get average of 250-350mm soil depth, cut the turf and use to form lower edge as if a wall.Drive chestnut stakes (40mm dia) to 'nail' it in place. You will be able to introduce (good )topsoil and...

Hi,Yes it's important never to give up and stop doing things in retirement @Bluejayway Too many only have their jobs at work in their life spending a lifetime doing it but have nothing else of interest like a hobby; they don't usually last long.Many thanks @CarolineL for your kind words;...

Very kind of you all, thank you My aching limbs from doing all sorts of stuff recently means I'm no longer able to go and do anything for other people @Plantminded .... I'm not very good at 'just gardening' as such. Always need a project! The current rebuilding of shed is a bit of a drag...

I'd probably grass the larger part of it leaving a circular area under the tree. Maybe plant that up with hardy cyclamen, blue bells and spring bulbs.I can't think of much that is likely to grow under the tree during the summer months, so probably a layer of bark just so it still looks tidy...

You might like to check establishments such as Gallery — Stratford Butterfly Farm Maybe they would be willing to share some of their secrets? PS And they do sell pupae.

I would keep it. It looks healthy, and you might find it difficult to get something else established in the shade of the neighbour's tree (possibly in the root zone of the tree as well).