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Have a look at Cecile Brunner, which has tiny exquisite buds and clusters of small pink flowers and The Albrighton Rambler with lots of very double small pale pink flowers. They both repeat flower and are charmingly cottagy and old fashioned looking. They are both vigorous and will cover a wall.

I don’t know how you tell which are by artificial insemination and which are natural.

Good point, our electric consumption has remained the same about 6,000 kWh a year, the solar panels contribute about half of that. So we import 50% less from the grid. The batteries get charged overnight at a cheap rate and/or by the panels. It all becomes complicated to work out as I don't know...

Well done @AnniD

Agree, even the best PAS100 compost still contains plastic, which will take far longer to break down than the polymer on slow release fertiliser.Then you have farmers that are widely using PAS100, those microplastics don't even break down in the digestive systems of cattle let alone in the...

Consider threatening them with barbed wire - they'll soon perk up

For those of you wondering what to do with those empty plastic chocolate/biscuits tubs, if you live near to a Greene King pub they can be taken there. The money raised goes to Macmillan .Tub2Pub | Greene King for Good

Hi,I've just found a useful bonus; free music scores on the web; I've now got "What a wonderful World" four pages in PDF format I've copied directly to my music memory stick; I can now display this on the new large monitor in the studio. I'm really pleased about this because in the past I'd...

I have been known to creep out into the garden in the early hours..........admittedly to watch the Hhogs but I'm sure I would have noticed the odd Vampire or 2. Mind you, it could be the Church, just yards away, which puts them off a bit ?

I was thinking mine could make a good fence treatment, or preservative for any timber that is going into the ground, it has a very similar colour to creosote. I'm glad I didn't actually swallow any of it.My tongue still feels burnt, I'm having to drink lots of cold beer to sooth it.

Has anyone else noticed a dearth of Toadstools etc. in their garden this Autumn. Just a couple for me which is unusual. Weather related ?

Thank you; I feel you are right and this is what my gut tells me too. I don't know why we have to breed plants to become so 'over-showy'. Some doubles are so complicated looking, the lovely original flower is lost. I also read somewhere that double flowers are harder for bees to navigate,...

My houseplants also have a growth spurt in winter, my theory is that as I tend to re-pot them in spring they focus on root growth into the new compost and have spare energy to put up foliage after that.If the growth is strong and not pale or "watery" thin long stems, everything should be just...

Songs of praise on the BBC If you think Aled Jones is singing live, he isn't.