Gardening: Hints and Help!

If you lost palm type plants this year there is hope. We had two big Torbay Dazzlers in pots (cordylines) both died a horrible death in the severe cold earlier on. We chopped them off at the base and left them (neglected!!) We've just noticed signs of life. A few years back when disease killed off everyone's palms we followed RHS advice and did the same. Our larger palms grew back and survived this winter. You might be able to spot the new shoot in the pot. And our old trees are still doing well.

An interesting article here about enriching our gardens and ‘managing ’ pests.

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/stark-warning-not-kill-slugs-26962513.amp?utm_source=mynewsassistant.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=embedded_search_item_mobile

No pests here Micky we all live alongside each other and I like to think the birds and hedgehogs remove the excess.  (Much more concerned about bindweed throttling everything...)

Plus 1

🤞no bindweed 🤞. Other persistent plants.....

If I find slugs/snails on things I pop them on the grass or patio and retreat indoors and await them becoming fodder 😉

When we had chickens and ducks, we never had a slug problem. Flattened flowers, maybe🤣 Got slugs and snails now though, despite having a garden full of birds. I just collect them and dump them into the wild part of the garden. Used to use beer traps, I wonder if birds would get drunk eating a drunken slug🤔

Yes, I think that’s the attitude we should all take. Just been to a national trust garden and they are keen to let visitors know that no pesticides, herbicides are used on there premises. Just hard work and allowing nature to redress any imbalances. Greenfly problems are just hosed away with a jet of water. Judging by the displays they seem to have it right! They had information about posters around the place and this struck home regarding their efforts..

38 million birds have vanished from our UK skies in the last 50 years, 97% of our wildflower meadows have been lost since the 1930s, and a quarter of all our mammals are at risk of extinction. We’ve lost so much, we’re now in the bottom 10% of countries globally in terms of nature we have left.

There was a similar one about bees and other pollinators. 

This is a peak time for birds to pick off insects to feed their young so greenfly don't get hosed off here (mind you it's not much fun being a greenfly...) 

The weather has pushed everything forward in the SW we're going to have to use more water than expected. We bought a new water barrel but didn't get it connected in time to catch the last lot of rain. Hoping to see some rain at the weeken!

This is the one with flowers now, so it did make it Albeit I planted it early. The ones in pots are not far behind. 

Has anyone grown Red Hot Poker seeds they have collected? If so, what kind of results did you get. I have some and want to give it a try. Only Red usual ones, nothing more exotic, although I do have an acid lemon colour I might try as well.

My Dahlias ( in pots ) have now been battered by the strong winds and rain.

should I now cut them down and lift the tubers ?