Posts by: akingsho

Hi Perciles,

The simple answer is no - they do not do well.

But getting Wisterias to flower has more to do with getting the wood ripe, pruning etc. At this time of year they can be hard pruned but to two flower buds and all the wispy growth should be cut out...

Trouble is that Wisteria's do not flower early in their life - they take about 5 years to get to flowering age - but once you get the knack of pruning twice a year - once in early winter back to 5 buds and then in late winter/very early spring back to no more than 2 buds they should flower reliably.

Sometimes however Wisteria cuttings are taken from stems which will never flower... so it may be a question of waiting at this time.

But I would certainly get them out of those pots.

Angela

Hi Janie B,

Breaking the concrete is going to be a mammoth task - but it can be done. Better to get building contractors in who have jack hammers to get it done quickly and also clear the materials away...

It is likely that you will then have to bring in sub soil and top soil to replace the concrete - and to give you a good surface to lay a patio on.

Always ask for references and always take them up.

Angela

Hi Bull,

I would insist on a certain level of finish before accepting the property - and also try to build in a clause that if shrubs die etc within a certain time that the developer is going to replace them.

However, as you are both not gardeners then I think you need to get someone in... but who. I would find your local plant nursery (try upmystreet.com) and see who they recommend as doing good work.

Where do you live, as I wonder if I can suggest someone to you.

Next design - a patio for you in a sunny spot, lawn for the baby to play and toddle on, a few special plants - what look do you like?.

Magnificance is something that will only come with time - functional is best to aim for now. But go for good bones - hard and soft landscaping that you can build on in the future.

Angela

Hi kezabel,

If you go to a site like DP Software they also do mosaics - if you go for a sample you can make your own border up from a random selection.

Then there is Mosaic Workshop, Martin Cheek, Earth Wind and Tiles - they all do glass mosaics...

If you are talking about every colour available then get a sample bag from Martin Cheek - you get two tiles of all the colours he does.

You can also get them on e-bay as well - but check out the status of the seller before committing...

Angela

Hi Brian,

A plant in the wrong place is a weed by definition. I have found something similar in my garden - but the flowers were somewhat different. I identified mine as the shoo flie plant - do not know its botanical name.

If they are spreading even in winter, then I will not take a chance on them - I think that they are a Caper Spurge... if they are then be careful because they have a sap which can irritate the skin - so handle with care and remove those plant you do not want - and even if you do decide to keep them do not let them set seed - cut the flowering stems off before they do.

Angela

Hi miccccck,

Yes - they are usually available at water garden centres...

Angela

Hi Trisha,

You could do it the Bill Oddie way - which is to count a block of them - multiply the block up by the number that are filled and that will give you a rough estimate...

I have all the usual birds in my garden... would like to see Thrushes as they are my favourite - but I do not have enough lawn to encourage them in... but the feeders and bird table are well visited.

And my resident robin (recognisable because he has a white feather on his wing) is back - made it through the winter...

I shall be counting - but my problem is the starlings - if the flock decide to come down the garden is nearly covered - talk about "The Birds"...

Angie

Hi Angie,

How were you growing it?. Sweetcorn is wind pollinated so it has to be grown in blocks rather than in rows to be sucessful.

Also if you are growing supersweet F1 varieties do not grow a extra sweet one as the polination is likely to lead to hard corns...

Hope this helps

Angela

Hi Slaw,

You need professional help. Try vermine control in Yellow Pages.

Angela

I so have to agree with everyone - it is so boring... fancy BB thinking people would want to watch John in his Y fronts it almost made me sick...

Now Three Celebs and a baby now that was riviting watching - especially when Caprice broke the babies finger (it was an state of the art automic lifelike baby) and later her PA kicked it off the bed (accident) and then rolled about laughing. It seems that it has confirmed her view that she is not ready for motherhood - so right.

Angela

Hi Trisha,

Wonder what that felt like on the skin... If it had been me I would have been itching within seconds and brought me out in a rash.

Angela

Hi Marilyn,

That is a really good idea... and if you treat yourself to a Chinese occassionally and it comes in those plastic containers - they are idea for freezing down individual portions of food - and for writing what it is on the top (nothing worse than thinking you are defrosting a stew only to find its pasta sauce and you have no pasta)...

I have yet to christen my morphey richards stew pot - it stews, fries, stir fries and roasts... I need to do a spring clean of the kitchen to find a suitable place for it but once I do - there will be no stopping me.

Angela

Is anyone else finding this as annoying as me... they come up everytime a log a message - and for me that is often and is clogging up the screen.

Yes I appreciate that the site has to advertise to stay alive but this is off putting.

So come on Style Team sort this out.

Angela

No but I have got a product which must be similar called Weldbond - which fixes most anything to anything else as though it was welded on - it also seals if dilluted down - it is like UPVA glue only about 10 times more concentrated.

There are others on the market which do the job of replacing nails.

Just be warned that if your plaster is not in good order you could find it coming down rather than the rail...

Angela

Probably,

it needs to bake during the summer - this helps it set buds - I have a friend who puts his in the greenhouse in the summer with some shading so that it doesn't scorch... it flowers regularily each year.

I would also feed it with a tomatoe food to encourage it to set flowers.

Angela

Hi Chloe,

No, but keep up the good work I love this style of furniture - it is just a pity most pieces will not fit up the stairs as I would love to give one of the bedrooms a shabby french chiq look...

I love the big blowsy roses painted onto wooded trays...

There is a shop on the outskirts of Aylesbury called Kiyam Interiors which stock such furniture but it is only open three days a week - Thurs to Saturday - so I dont get there that often.

Angela

No Dollymac,

It hasn't disapreared, its probably on the second or third page of messages.

Probably, like me, no one has heard of them and so cannot give you the information you require.

If you want advice of the Style Team you have to be very patient as they are not usually as quick on the up take as they used to be.

Angela

Also there are some stunning metal effect tiles out there which will give you a similar effect but much cooler...

Angela

Hi Lol,

From what I have heard they are right - well it is easy to clean but it is difficult to keep the marks off of it.

Tiles or glass do seem to be the effective alternative.

Angela

Hi Georgie,

The simple answer is yes - and I believe if you check with your local DIY centre there are now specialist paints on the market.

Angela

Hi ChrisR,

It will all depend on the shower unit and whether you want it to be a power shower (better for resale)... but you need less space than you think to fit everything in.

I recently went to a b&b where the on-suite was quite small - just enough room to go pass the sink sideways... and was only as wide as the shower tray - but it was all wonderfully finished to a very high standard and extremely well lit - which made up for the lack of space but I had to leave the door open to the bedroom when in the shower to get over the sense of claustraphobia...

If you were to put in an en-suite that small you will have to consider vetilation as a prority if you did not want damp and mould to become an issue.

Angela

Hi wonder webb,

Do you know what plant(s) they belong to - as I would be tempted to spray the area off with weed killer - this will also kill any seeds which have found there way into the area...

And also it is work buying the most expensive weed membrane as you can afford... that way it will have a longer life and avoid you having to lift and replace it in a few years time.

Angela

Hi Hids,

How did you get on with your mission.

Grey is actually a very neutral colour to work with - and goes with blues, pinks, silver and all sorts of colours...

But you have already worked your way through trying to match the colour of the walls to the carpet and suite... and what someone thinks will work is not necessarily the case...

I hoop that what you end up with matches the chiq look you are after.

Angela

Hi Shazonator,

I totally agree with you on this - and it also have to be the right shade for the room... red is also a very difficult colour to get right and if you have watched LLB on Changing rooms you will see that when he does red he nearly always does a red undercoat of a different tone to the one he intends to get the saturation of colour correct.

But in the right room and in the right proportions red is a lovely rich vibrant colour especially when teamed with gold.

Angela

Hi ayyjay,

I would go for a soft hyacith colour from Dulux... it is not too blue to be mascalin nor too girly... you could also then have pink/blue accessories to go with it.

Having said that, my bedroom is mainly painted Ghost by Crown... It is one of those colours where you could have blue bedding for your lad and lilac or purple bedding for your girl.

You say that she is not a pink girlie - but this will get more important the older she gets - using a soft lilac such as Ghost will also allow you to easily change this room into a guest room when the children are old enough to split...

Angela