In a garden situation soak aways need to be at a depth of 300mm .soak away in our garden the pipes need to come into the soak away at the top of the soak away so the soak away acts as a collection point for the drainage water.Ideally the pipe and the soak away top should be 300 below the soils surface. With regards to the pipe you would normally have one main pipe leading into the soak away with other pipes branching off from the main pipe.

Fungal problems with Crocosmia – In a cold wet spring as we are having at the moment Crocosmia can suffer from fungal disease which can cause the stems to turn black. The best treatment for this is to remove the effected stems and treat with sulphur powder.
This is a link to a supplier of sulphur powder

The reason that most people have bird feeders in their gardens is because they like to see the different species or they want to help boost bird populations, particularly during the cold weather or during the breeding season.

But now there’s an even better reason to feed birds. A new study by researchers from the University of Reading and published in the journal Basic and Applied Ecology, shows that providing food for birds can reduce the number of aphids found on nearby vegetation.

The study, using food provided by Ernest Charles and feeders provided by Gardman, examined the size and survivorship of colonies of pea aphids (greenfly) on broad bean plants in suburban gardens where bird feeders were present or were absent.

In those gardens where bird food was provided, aphid colonies on plants that were accessible to birds were smaller and survived for shorter periods of time than expected when compared with gardens where no bird feeders were present.

This is the first experimental evidence that feeding wild birds in domestic gardens can lead to significant reductions in the abundance and longevity of greenfly populations.

Find out more from http://bbsrc.ac.uk/news/food-security/2012/120404-pr-feeding-wild-birds-reduces-pests.aspx.

How to compost fresh chicken manure – its best staked with layers of straw or other garden compost. The layers should be about 100mm thick and alternate.
With each layer add half a handful of grow more fertilizer this will help to provide nutrients to the bacteria to breakdown the compost .
Water the heap well and then keep moist for 6 months, then the chicken manure should be ready to use.
freash chicken manure and to an extent well roted chicken manure contains high levels and ammonium so be careful that it does not come into direct contact with the roots of you plants. For example when you are planting new plants.

Plants to produce a screen in a coastal area
A good indicator to wether or not a plant will survive to windy and salty conditions near to the sea is to look for a plants with fleshy green leaves such as a skimmia japonica or and Griselinia littoralis. Both these plants have a thick waxy coating to the leaves which protect the leaf and prevent moisture loss
Other plants for creating a screen in coastal areas are
Elaeagnus x ebbingei
Hippophae rhamnoides
Olearia macrodonta
Hippophae rhamnoides

UK Hardy Plants
Lathyrus grandiflorus (Everlasting pea)
Lathyrus latifolius (Everlasting pea)
Lonicera (Honeysuckle)
Parthenocissus tricuspidata (Virginia creeper)
Schizophragma integrifolium (Schizophragma)
Solanum crispum (Climbing potato)
Trachelospermum jasminoides (Confederate vine)
Vitis (Grape vine)
Wisteria sinensis (Chinese Wisteria)
Actinidia kolomikta (Kolomikta vine)
Akebia quinata (Chocolate vine)
Ampelopsis brevipedunculata (Turquoise berry vine)
Asarina antirrhiniflora (Snapdragon vine)
Campsis x tagliabuana ‘Mme Galen’ (Trumpet creeper)
Celastrus scandens (American bittersweet)
Clematis
Fallopia aubertii (Mile a minute vine)
Fallopia baldschnanica (Mile a minute vine)
Hedera (Ivy)
Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris (Climbing hydrangea)
Jasminum officinale (Common jasmine)
Jasminum polyanthum (Winter jasmine)

UK semi Hardy plants
Eccremocarpus scaber (Chilean glory flower)
Passiflora caerulea (Passion flower)

Flowering plants suitable for an obelisk on alkaline soil
Campsis x tagliabuana ‘Mme Galen’ (Trumpet creeper)
Asarina antirrhiniflora (Snapdragon vine)
Celastrus scandens (American bittersweet)
Lathyrus latifolius (Everlasting pea)
Lathyrus grandiflorus (Everlasting pea)
Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris (Climbing hydrangea)
Clematis jackmanii species

Most of these plant would loose the leaves in winter and could be pruned back to control the size and to maintain the flowering so we would recommend planting crocus and Colchicum autumnale under the base of the obelisk for winter interest.

Plants for walls and fences
For a sunny south or west-facing walls and fences

Trachelospermum
Campsis radicans
Solanum cripsum ‘Glasnevin’
Ceanothus skylark
Coronilla valentina
Fremontodendron californicum

Plants for walls and fences
For a shady north or east-facing walls and fences

Parthenocissus
Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris
Akebia quinata
Garrya elliptica ‘James Roof’
Rosa ‘Albéric Barbier’
Pyrcantha orange glow
Hyrdrangea petiolaris

Growing courgettes in large pots or growbags. Courgettes are well suited to growing in containers such as grow bags and large pots. Best in pots using the largest post you have in the space available, remember the plants will also spread outside the area of the pot You are best using a soil based compost such as John Inness compost number 2 as a soil based compost will help even out the water availability to the plants Sometimes with a peat or recycled compost the sudden availability of water to the plant after watering can cause the Courgettes to split.

Climbing Rose suggestions for rose arches and rope swags
Rosa Golden Showers
Rosa “Gloire De Dijon”
Rosa Crown Princess Margareta
Roas Gertrude Jekyll

As the clumps of lily of the valley get older they often stop flowering or reduce the amount of flowers they produce. To solve this problem in the autumn dig up the clump of lily of the valley in divide into two or three clumps and replant and then feed with a standard garden feed such as growmore fertilizer

Stopping slugs entering your house – one of the best method we have found at stopping slugs entering houses is to us copper tape normally used to stop slugs entering pots by placing the tape around the pot.
In the case of the slugs entering a house place the tape across door frames and the inside of drain pipes as these are the main two areas slugs access you house.
Its not a good idea to use slug pellets near your house as it tends to attract to your house.
For more information on slug control click here

Variegated Eleagnus Pungens with many other evergreen plants often drop a large amount of leaves after or during the plant is being stressed. This stress can come in many forms such as a cold period in the winter through winder winds or heavy frosts or in some cases evergreens are under stress as they grow into areas of soil with toxic chemicals or unsuitable soil condition such as water logging.
In most cases the solution is to prune the plants back and to mulch and feed to try to help the plant to recover from the stress it has suffered

Croton plant varieties require heavy watering as well as high humidity. Misting the plant once or twice a week appears to be sufficient for accommodating the Croton’s humidity needs if you live in an area with low humidity levels. Keep the plants soil moist at all times. If leaves begin to fall off or slope downward, you are probably not providing the plant with enough water. If the leaves edges become wilted, this may be an indication that you are over watering the plant. Try cutting down on how often you water and see if that improves the leaves appearance. The Croton also prefers warm temperatures up to 80 degrees F.
with regards to propagation of croton plants For best results, take a 4- to 6-inch softwood cutting in early summer. Leave only one leaf on the cutting. Using a clean knife, make the cut just below a leaf. When propagating a large-leaved variety of croton, cut the leaf in half
To stop the stem from bleeding, dust it with charcoal. Next, dust the cutting with rooting hormone. You’ll find these items at any garden center.

Victoria plumb trees they quite often get effected by heavy frosts in the winter that can kill the whole tree or just one side of the tree. One way of testing this is to lightly scratch the bark on the areas that have not show sights of life yet and if they are still green underneath then its still alive and its worth waiting a while to see if it shoots later in the season.
Often victoria plumb trees will suffer die back in the winter over the whole plant or just one side depending on how the weather has effected the plant, in this case its worth pruning back the plant to try to regenerate it.

Pyrus salicifolia ‘Pendula’
Arbutus unedo
Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’
Malus domestica ‘Spartan’
Malus evereste
Betula utilis ‘Snow Queen’
Prunus Shogetsu
Amelanchier lamarckii
Liquidambar styraciflua Moonbeam
Sorbus aucuparia ‘Fastigiata’
Pyrus salicifolia ‘Pendula’
Arbutus unedo
Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’

Hebes normally are not a plant that takes to being cut back into bare stems, it will often not shoot from bare stems. However one method we have tried with some success is to feed the hebe with a high nitrate feed before cutting back which has over an 8 week period encouraged new shoots to grow on the bare inner stem of the plant and then we have cut back to these stems and the plant has quickly grown away from these new shoots after pruning.

Seeds are a general rule are planted to a depth of one and and half times the height of the seed. If the seed is planted too deep it will in some cases grow but it will suffer as it will have to expend to much of its stored energy in the seed. Once the seed is sown its worth making sure the soil or compost it well firmed in around the seed so that the seed can take up the available water or soil moisture to add germination

Frost damage to the Gunnera leaf, Gunneras are often damaged by the late season frosts because they start to leaf up quite early in the season, if the whole leaf is damaged they are best removed however if only part of the leaf is damaged it is best left as the undamaged parts of the leaf will still be able to produce food for the plant to sustain its growth. Then in June the damage leaf could be removed.

Moving a wisteria spring is the best time to try to move a wisteria. They are not the easiest plants to move as they are often deep rooted. Try to dig up as much root as possible especially the finer root hairs on the end of the roots. Then cut back the top growth to about a metre, this will help with water loss. When replanting use lots of organic mater such as well roted garden compost or horse manure. Keep we watered throughout the spring and summer.