Saw dust would not be a good choice, especially for a mulch, as it will blow away in the summer and get too wet in the winter by holding the water. In the soil as a source of ogranic matter, it will take a lot of the nutrients out as the bacteria try to break [...]

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The lavender plant (L. angustifolia) should be pruned every year to keep them compact. On established plants, remove flower stalks and about 2.5cm of the current year’s growth, being careful not to cut them back into the woody stems. Also make sure that some green growth remains. Pruning is undertaken in late Summer after flowering, [...]

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Though most of the chemicals have now been taken off the market, that one would use for this issue, as well as in effort to contributing to a healthier environment there are other methods to control this situation. For gardeners observing the presence of earthworms in your lawn, here at GardenAdvice we would recommend that [...]

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Traffic noise close to your home can become quite a bother. It also tends to take away the sense of tranquility to those who own gardens. Hedging can be a sensible solution, whereas gardeners can plant hedges to provide a screen from the traffic and the noise that comes with it. Here at Gardenadvice we [...]

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One of the key factors in successful Wildflower cultivation is species selection. Therefore selecting those that do well in your locality will be sensible. Wildflowers tend to thrive better in poor soils. An easy way to reduce the soils’s fertility is to remove the topsoil layer and bring the subsoil level to the surface, this [...]

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Having Clover and Moss in your lawn both tend to be linked to another problem affecting the lawn, which more often than not is related to the soil’s health. Whereas the pH of the soil is low and suppressing the grass, allowing the moss to get a hold. As for a solution to this problem, [...]

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Most lawns will recover after a hot summer with little or no water, but there are several tasks you can carry out that will help them to recover much faster in the autumn. The main problem is that when the rain starts again the ground is normally hard and the water will not soak in [...]

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The best time to use lawn weedkiller is in May, when plants are growing at their fastest rate. Particularly if you are using Verdone or a dry phosphate. All plants have a chemical growth clock which will stop them from outgrowing themselves. Verdone, for example, contains 2-4-D, which alters the growth clock so that the [...]

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When moving Hydrangeas to a pot they are many things you need to consider. Hare at GardenAdvice here are a few tips we recommend for persons attempting to move their Hydrangeas. Firstly, because you are restricting the plant to a pot, one should use a fairly rich free-draining compost, something like JI No.2 with the [...]

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A grape vine usually takes a couple of years to establish. At this stage it will not produce much fruit it normally takes about 3 to 4 seasons to get going fully. To get started, you need to feed the canes with a high potash feed ideally a liquid feed thats used for feeding Tomato [...]

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Wood ashes contain potassium, some phosphorous and magnesium. They also contain calcium which makes the soil more alkaline so do not put on any of your lime hating plants like Rhododendron, Azaleas or Conifers as they do not like wood ash on them either. They are particularly beneficial around deciduous trees, including fruit trees, vegetables, [...]

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Ants can cause concern but they are a nuisance rather than destructive pests. They feed mainly on insects, including other ants. They also look for the sweet liquid known as honeydew, which is excreted by aphids and some other sap-feeding insects. Ants can protect aphids from attack by ladybirds and other predators in order to [...]

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When creating a Shrub Border in an existing lawn, there are a few steps that one would have to follow. Here at GardenAdvice, our experts recommend to gardeners performing this exercise, to take the following steps in order to make this task as simple and straightforward as possible. Firstly mark out the area with a [...]

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Winter time is known to be a challenging time for plants, due to the change of climate and differing temperatures. However there are some plants that enjoy cool conditions. For the Money Plant though the minimum winter temperature needs to be around 50 deg F. The plant actually originated in the Solomon Islands and is [...]

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Camellias need to be in a position in your garden that does not receive the sun before mid morning. The reason for this that the flower buds can drop if they thaw to quickly in the early spring frosts. Placing them in a position that allows them to be heated up by air temperature before [...]

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Begonias make excellent and rewarding house plants. They need warm, humid and well-lit conditions but not direct sunlight. Generally, Begonias grown indoors will require some shading during summer. In winter a minimum night temperature of 12deg c (54 deg f) will suit many species, but avoid placing plants near central heating. An open, humus-rich compost [...]

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Here at GardenAdvice, we offer advice to gardeners on many pest that can be found in the garden, one of which is the Mealy Bug. For control of this pest our experts recommend a few tips on how this issue can be rectified. Spraying with a systemic insecticide is considered to be the best method. [...]

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The Organic Garden Catalogue offers two late sowing seed collections, one vegetable, and on the other salad which are quite intresting and can provide vital information for organic vegetable gardeners. In October you can still sow winter lettuce, spinach and broad bean aquadulce amongst others. For any land that you are not putting a food [...]

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During the Winter season can be a challenging time for plants. Gardeners can have a tough job maintaining the color and blooms of the Spring and Summer. However there are still plants that gardeners can use that can be seen as reliable for providing winter colour in the garden. Here are a few tips on [...]

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When you find toadstools in a lawn, there are generally two reasons why. Firstly, your turf has too much thatch. This is the dead matter that builds up at the base of the grass plants and forms a mat which often makes the lawn spongy to walk on. In this case you need to remove [...]

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