Still a few days left to take part. It’s a great excuse to just sit in the garden for 15 minutes     . 

https://bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org/

Hopefully I’ll have time to do another one tomorrow.

Recently I have received phone calls from people who I think are Chinese, as soon as I hear them speak I hang up and block the number, but would like to know if there is something else I can do and also wondering why I am suddenly getting these calls and if others are have experienced the same

my sunflowers are growing really tall but the leaves seem to be attack by something. I have checked the leaves and bed and can’t find any sign of slugs or caterpillars, there are no sign of eggs or anything on the leaves, even one of the flower heads seem to have been attacked as well.
The other leaves are ok and in pretty good condition

               

Any suggestions ?

At the moment I am sitting looking out at the garden, and I see clematis, roses, lilies dahlias, fuchsias, petunias, rudbeckias, nasturtiums, chrysanthemum, crocosmia, (5 diffrent patches of it, when I thought I had removed it all last year) sweetpeas, marigolds, hostas along with several other flowering and foliage plants and I am thinking that I get a lot of pleasure growing, working and looking at them, so I am now thinking of doing away with my raised vegetable beds and any veg that I want I can grow in containers, to change everything wouldn't be too difficult, as the 3x2 slabs that make up 2 of the beds can be used to protect the boundary fences and the timber which make up other 2 can be used as edging, but I will give it a bit of thought rather than starting right now, anyway I have peas, beans, potatoes, onions, cabbage and cauliflower along with several different salad veg growing at the moment, usually when I think of something I go for it, possibly the reason why I don't have that many mature plants and bushes in the garden, well apart from some of the clematis and a honeysuckle a rowan tree a dwarf pine along with a Ginkgo Baloba tree, if I go for this I suppose it will be my permanent garden, as OH keeps telling me to slow down, also I could get assistance from the grandchildren, which sort of sways my to doing it, as it would give them some experience plus ofcourse like Veggie I am not getting any younger

Any ideas for things I can do with biscuit crumbs? 
I’ve got a lot! I brought 2kg of broken/ mis shaped biscuits. For tea breaks on the build. Obviously there was a lot of very small bits & big crumbs in the bottom of the box. 
I know they’re perfect for cheese cake base. Anything else?

Hi all,

I've been lucky enough to acquire a garden that is not only long, it's fairly wide too - what a change from my postage stamp back garden at my Victorian terrace!

So, I have a back garden with three sheds, one greenhouse, one open summer house and more water butts than I've ever seen in one place! The length of the garden is probably a good 100 feet, but I'm just guessing. It's east facing if you stand with the house behind you, and the north side of the garden (on your left) gets sun from first thing until about 4pm at this time of year.

The far end on the right is a MASSIVE chicken coop with two chickens that we have inherited from the previous owner - very good layers. There's an extra little coop that has been used for bantams where I keep the chicken that I brought with me, for now.

The garden has a pond in the middle of a good size, with goldfish and water lillies in it, with acers and roses growing around it. There's a few bushes and roses and the dreaded buddleia around the edges, but that's it.

I'm hoping to cover a third of the lawn with veg and fruit beds. I have an idea of design, but I feel the need for advice from people that have done this before.

Where do you get garden design ideas and principles from? The web? Books? Titles would be great

Where do you get inspiration from, how to organise colour schemes, how much to dedicate to perennial fruit and veg compared to sow/harvest kinds of beds etc.

Please throw all your knowledge, skills and common sense at me

Hi Admin/Mods

A while ago Veggie explained a way of doing a more in depth search, and yup I can't find it

Any chance this can be explained again please, and perhaps saved in a guidelines area?

Can any of you suggest some good houseplants I could start now please? (either from seed or cuttings).
Already thinking about being cooped up indoors for the winter, with nothing to tend (other than the other half, and the two kitties  Fergus and Fitzroy).
Is it too late for coleus?

Got three patty pans planted. Loads of flowers, but not a sign of a patty pan. My courgettes are in full swing (Defender, Orelia, Goldmine, Midnight, de Nice Rond and Zephyr) 
Shall I give up and rip them out or “have a little patience” as the Take That song goes?
It would give the others a bit of space to spread.

It was recently my birthday (for my 30th I went to Paris where the French kindly put on a big parade and fireworks display). 

I was gifted these shorts and also a pair of trousers with very similar pockets.

https://www.scruffs.com/workwear/trade-shorts.html

I have been using them a fair bit for various jobs the last couple of weeks and so far they are very good. The material is pretty water resistant, appears very hard wearing but isn't as stretchy as some trousers I have. 
The pocket options are great, I wasn't sure about the front flappy pockets at first but they are turning out to be very useful for bits and bobs. Also there is a long thin pocket made of fairly robust looking fabric on the outside of the right leg which fits my hori hori perfectly which is turning out to be very useful.