Posts by: Kathy_

Where abouts do you live? They should survive outside in the UK. If you are keeping it in the shed be careful it doesn't dry out.

They probably won't use it until next spring now, but its hard to say exactly when. You don't need to put anything in it, they will make their own nest. You can leave stuff out for them in your garden when they are building their nests for them to use. my friends emptied a bird box and found the nest was made from her old dog's hair.

the green insects could be aphids. you could either spray them with a bug spray or just use washing up liquid to get rid. The white/grey stuff on the leaves could be caused by red spider mite, depends what it looks like. they could make the webs too, but they are probably from the spider. spiders won't do no harm.

If you want to post pics add them to an online photo album site (such as photobucket) and post a link to it.

It depends how dry and shady it is, it is difficult to plant under conifers. Shrubs such as holly and sarcoccca will grow in shade, but not if it is really dry. You could plant things in pots if the soil is too bad, as long as you remember to water them.

Polystichums and dryopteris are some of the easiest ferns to grow and many are tolerant of dry soil. If you want flowers too then hardy geraniums will grow nearly anywhere and cyclamen are good under trees.

sometimes it takes the birds a while to notice it is there. In winter when there is less food around they are more likely to use it.

If you add your pics to an online photo album (such as photobucket) you can then post a link to them here.

Kalenchoes are generally very unfussy plants. It probably won't mind if you repot it now, but if you are worried leave it until it has finished flowering. They can survive being pot-bound.

I don't know how long it will flower for, it depends what type it is.

The most commonly grown Kalenchoes are the ones known as Flaming Katies but there are other types grown mainly for their nice foliage so maybe this is why the florist thought it wouldn't flower?

do you have a photo or a description?

Looks like a dracunculus vulgaris.

A lot of people who work in garden centres, etc, don't actually know that much about plants so I wouldn't be that surprised if you are given wrong advice.

All succulents will flower. Some only flower when they are quite old or large so don't often flower in cultivation.

If you want to post a photo add one to an online photo album (photobucket for example) and post the link here.

Most succulents are pretty easy to look after. They want a lot of light and watering once every week or 2, don't let them get too soggy. If you repot it use gritty compost. It should be okay to repot it, but maybe don't do it while it is flowering.

I don't think messages show up if they are posted when there are no moderators on the boards (between 10pm and 10am I think). It is annoying if you can see a title and no message though.

If you click on a person's name all their posts will be listed, even the hidden ones, so if you want to see them you can do it that way.

well putting them in the fridge shouldn't do them any harm, after all if they are hardly plants they will have to survive a cold winter every year.

The types I've grown I've found easy to grow and I've never put them in the fridge.

gabions?

A bog garden would be a good idea. You'd just put a few holes in the liner, fill it with soil and plant bog plants.

Another idea would be to just completely fill it with stones or pebbles and put some kind of fountain in it to make it into like a giant pebble pool. Then you still have a water feature but it is completely safe. and in the future when the children are a bit older you can remove the stones if you want and have a pond again.

They need pollinating, the ones outside obviously have the insects to do it for them. Pollinate them with a paintbrush or something.

Is it boggy all year round or just after it has been raining?

What type are they?

They're probably growing on something rotting underground. They're difficult to get rid of, you'd have to remove the soil and dig up whatever they are growing on. It is easier just to ignore them or pick them off.

A lot of people used to ask about this, if you read through some of the old topics on the forum you might find one.

If you can't, put some of the lyrics you know into a search engine and you should be able to find out the title.

How big are the flies? If they are tiny black ones it is often because the soil gets too waterlogged. They are easy to prevent though, you just put a layer of gravel over the compost.

They can be grown in a greenhouse, they are probably more likely to fruit in a greenhouse too. However it would have to be a big greenhouse and unless you went for the self fertile variety you would need a male and a female plant and you'd probably have to help pollinate the flowers.

You can grow them from seed but they may take a few years to flower. or you can dig the bulbs up and some of them may split in half and you can plant them separately.

I've got an allium 'Hair' which must have grown from seed last year and it is flowering already.

The saffron crocus should be easy to get hold of, most bulbs sellers and even garden centres should sell it. I bought some from the Parkers wholesale catalogue last year.

one of the problems with it is it can be difficult to get it to flower again the second year.

You can also use oasis or florists' foam or you can buy the swelling crystals that do the same thing.

Water lotuses are from the genus nelumbo. They aren't fully hardy and grow pretty big. You can grow them from seed (the seed pods are often included in dried flower arrangements) or buy plants from a specialist nursery, they will cost about £40. If you look on the RHS plant finder you will find a nursery that sells them.

Water lilies (nyphaea) are much easier to grow in the average pond and you get a wider range of colours and sizes.