Posts by: mondaychild

the concrete examples have little historic merit. perhaps take out the ends to make a walk-through tunnel with wall shelves with shade-tolerant plants. Clear the roof back to concrete and you could put a soft-water rain capture tank on top.

for appearance it is best to remove and start again. the soil may be poor and another conifer variety may be better. Beech is slower but grows to a solid hedge. Decide what you want to achieve; is it a solid hedge, a pleasant wall, an evergreen wall. Beech leaves go brown in winter but mostly stay on.

Rockery plants look after themselves. Aubretia gives colourful flowers
Shrubs look good but would need to be removed when they get too big.
Bulbs give flowers for a short time and can be left to die back without actually having to make them look tidy by removing the dead leaves.
Heathers ( erica ) grow slowly and have colour for most of the year.

It is where you start seedlings in early spring, growing the seeds in boxes so that they get more warmth from the sun and get an early start. From the cold frame you plant out later. Also there are some things that would be attacked by birds and whcih are protecetd by the glass.

Karen -- Not much hope if you cannot provide a route out of your garden to lower ground. Grow things in half barrels so that there is something to look at.

Too late to start now. Wait for spring. If seeds spread now the birds will eat them.

Spring is the best time, when new growth is first seen. Cut with sharp knife and dust cut surfaces with anti-fungal powder.

keep them moist and in temperatures between 19 and 25 C. They should grow for next year. Now it is winter with lower light levels and they would not want to do much.

A daylight fluorescent fitting 5 feet long ( domestic kitchen fitting ) will give useful lighting. The tubes are about £4 but they last for several years. They should be over the bench if possible but a central light fitting will cover two side benches.You will need screening to prevent lighting annoying the neighbours and any paper sheet will do. Perhaps the lights at £70 are combined light and heat.

It is a bit late because there are some severe frosts on the way and the cut stem would not have time to heal over. Pruning can be left to the spring, with mid-November as the latest autumn prune.

Perhaps slugs are eating the leaves. They certainly attack the new shoots of perennial varieties. Look after dark with a torch.

He has no right to stop you feeding wild animals. You should however recognise that squirrels are not all sweetness and light, and that he has a proper right and reason to be upset.
Could you consider feeding only the birds, from a squirrel-proof table, because their needs are much greater than the needs of the squirrels.

go on the web and enter address
flowers for cutting
The fothergills site shows pictures and should help you to choose some.

go on the web and ask for
vegetables for shade.
The nvsuk and the gardenorganic
sites are useful

Go on the web and look for
Plants for shade.
The home.clara.net site will offer lots of choices.

Some shrubs would be attractive and for the zero income gardener, this means taking ( stealing ) cuttings now, about 6 inches long from any local shrubs that you like, where they overhang the paths. Strip off most of the leaves, scape some of the bark off and plant them now, to leave some leaves showing. During the winter they should root and then grow next year. In 10 years time you will have fine shrubs.
Perhaps there is a local gardening club whose members may have spare plants to give away, if you ask nicely.
A seed packet or two planted next spring will give colour. Look for perennials that will then grow again each year.

Should be OK. Try one plant to start and see what happens.

Questions ------ part of country, slope, size, water flow, soil, is it cut into level terraces with steps between,

Glyophosate spray ( Roundup ) but watch that it does not blow on to the garden. Lawn moss killer is ferrous sulphate and although this is a good killer it will stain your concrete.

report next year on progress.

Cut down the fir trees, probably Lawson Cupressus, they grow fast but are boring. Put in some shrubs and anything that you can get from a supermarket will grow well enough. Leave about 2 metres between them because many of them grow large. Look at the pictures on the packaging and choose those that have coloured leaves or flowers. Keep the rets of the hedge - it will need pruning but is more interesting than a wall and wildlife will occupy it.

In spring it will need feeding to get best results. Rhubarb is hardy enough for outdoors in England.

The ash contains useful minerals but it is a very fine powder and will tend to clog the soil and encourage water retention. I suggest that you try a small area, a few square metres, this year and see how it responds. If the ground has not been used for four years it will have built up mineral levels from rainfall and is unlikely to have a deficiency.

let the pods dry and go brown. Then cut off before they open themselvesnand let the seeds drop all over the place. Save the seeds in dry place and plant next spring.

Another option is to be less ambitious and get a poinsettia. On your kitchen wondow cill, with no draughts, plenty of light and kept moist, the red leaves will last until next November ( although they will by then be somewhat dry ).
Cyclamen also grow well and can withstand outdoors. The corm will grow and it will need a larger pot about two year intervals, with new compost.