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  • Sex and Death

    Forum post by Arabella Sock on 20 Jan 2009

    An attention grabbinig subject title if ever there was one and also happens to be the title of an exhibition held in the Pyramid Glasshouse at Sydney Botanic Gardens. How could you not want to vist that even when you find out it is all to do with orchids? By contrast the RHS sent out an email from entitled "Winter Wonder at the RHS Gardens". Totally unimaginative!!!! Isn't it about time that the RHS 'sexed up' its image a bit more and conveyed the excitment of gardens and gardening Read more..

  • Re: Sex and Death

    Forum post by Arabella Sock on 20 Jan 2009

    You're right Digger 'sexing up' is a ghastly phrase however it is in popular usage. I totally agree about not having gardens that end up like theme parks. I guess I meant that the RHS could sometimes convey a more dynamic and image. Read more..

  • Hampton Court Flower Show - Members' Day

    Forum post by Arabella Sock on 19 Jan 2009

    One of the main benefits of RHS membership for me is the fact that I can attend the various flower shows on members' day. Or at least this would be a benefit if it wasn't for the fact that the Hampton Court flower show is flooded out with Daily Mail readers and presumably other non-members who the RHS have allowed to attend on this day. In the case of Hampton Court last year it was unpleasantly overcrowded. How does the RHS justify this and what proportion of tickets are in fact sold or given Read more..

  • Re: Hose pipe exemption?

    Forum post by Arabella Sock on 29 Mar 2006

    We have been on a hose-pipe ban since last summer and I would certainly be interested to know if there are exemptions for disabled gardeners. I have M.E. and the effort of filling up a watering can and carrying the can around my (relatively small) garden is too much for me. (Don't even think about stand pipes!) Last year I used the hose-pipe to water my tomatoes in a gro-bag and my pots. I would have used the same amount of water if I had used a watering can but I assume that technically I am breaking Read more..

  • Anchusa - Rust?

    Forum post by Arabella Sock on 23 Jun 2005

    My anchusa "loddon royalist" has large blisters on the leaves which have brown discolouration on them. I've picked off the worst affected leaves but it does spoil the look of the plant which is blooming profusely. I have a feeling the same thing happened last year. Is there anything I can do next year to prevent this? I think it might be coming to the end of its flowering season this year (not sure there are still some new buds coming)I have cut down all the old flowering bracts. Can this spread Read more..

  • Re: Fox trouble

    Forum post by Arabella Sock on 28 Apr 2005

    I bet rhinos have a lot more pee in them than you do Ken! Rhoda Read more..

  • Re: Japanese Quince problem

    Forum post by Arabella Sock on 20 Apr 2005

    Thanks Susannes It is definitely not voles - I life in a high-density housing area in a town and although I am always amazed by the amount of wildlife I get in the garden (foxes, frogs, newts, and a variety of birds including the occasional sparrowhawk) I ain't never seen a vole here! I am not sure about the fireblight - I've had a look at various descriptions of symptoms and would have expected a slower effect rather than it going from very healthy to this sort of "dormant" state over the winter Read more..

  • Japanese Quince problem

    Forum post by Arabella Sock on 19 Apr 2005

    I have a problem with my 10 year Japanese quince "Crimson King" which has neither flowered nor come into leaf this year. It is growing in a small raised bed in the passageway at the back of my house. It is trained against a south facing wall and although it doesn't get much direct sunlight it does get quite a lot of reflected light as the walls around it are all painted white. There are 3 main stems coming up from the bed and one of these which only comes up to about half a metre high has flowered Read more..

  • Re: Slug/snail Nematodes - do they work?

    Forum post by Arabella Sock on 06 Apr 2005

    I've just ordered a batch of slug nematodes and vine weevil nematodes which I intend to use in my smallish borders. I'll let you know if I notice any difference this year. They are costing me about £25 for two standard size packs but as I lost more than that amount of plants last year through slug and snail damage it will be a reasonable investment if it works. I think many of the snails live in the old crumbling walls round my garden so I am also going to spray a solution of snail killing stuff Read more..

  • Re: www.wildaboutgardens.org

    Forum post by Arabella Sock on 05 Apr 2005

    Hi Ken I had noticed one of these lovely moths taking nectar from my little potted prunus by my back door. I have seen them around the garden before over the last couple of years but never this early and not knowing what it was it struck me that it looked just like a humming bird with its long proboscis and hovering round the plant with its wings vibrating madly. By coincidence I then read about it that evening in the wild about gardens in the latest RHS Garden magazine. I wondered if I was particularly Read more..