Gardening tip - deadheading roses

Gardening tip - deadheading roses

Keep deadheading your roses religiously for a succession of blooms.  Removing heads instantly smartens up the plant and can keep repeat-flowering roses going for months.  Remove the flowers as you go along and once all flowering heads are spent, cut back any tall stems to a healthy stem of about pencil thickness and above a leaf with five leaflets.  But remember to leave your hip producing roses such as Rosa rugosa and Rosa moyesii for autumn and winter interest.


Greener gardening - leave room for ladybirds

Ladybirds are a welcome sight in our gardens, helping to keep aphids and other pests under control.  They’re brightly coloured and distinctive, so where do they hide in winter? Ladybirds...
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Garden gadgets - compressed compost

One of the most interesting innovations in gardening lately is compressed coir compost. Coir is a natural fibre which comes from the outer husk of coconuts, and is being used...
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Wildlife in the garden - fieldfare

Fieldfares are visitors to our gardens and parks during the winter months - they come to the UK from Scandinavia and Russia from September to April, sticking to rural areas...
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