General Chat

Dry the eggshells in the oven first and then crush them smallish so they are very sharp. I found lots of snails today and put them all on the bird table. They can take their chances on there.

Hi Cherrie, put broken egg shells around the roots of your plants. Snails & slugs don't like them as they are sharp. Worth a try. Hilary.

put slug pellets round bushes, just cover the pellets with chicken wire so that animals will not eat them, they do for snails as well as slugs Barbara........

Cherry, it might be best to invest in a book on garden pests and how to deal with them There are several around, wouldn't be without mine as I have saved several shrubs and trees from a certain death.

Oh Jean, I forgot, Harry did say he was going to Blackpool didn't he! Barbara, maybe that's the problem here, it's alternatingly so cosy, damp and sunny for the little bugs to enjoy themselves and then when it's cold they manage to survive 'cos it's not cold enough to kill 'em off! Truly Huia, I kid you not, the snails have chomped through the Cordyline, I just couldn't believe it. Caught three of them at it and there was a trail of dirts to prove their mates had had a good feast too. The other plant, whose name I can't remember, resembles a pineapple with narrow strappy sharp leaves growing from the centre. Cherryxx

Tee Hee, it's dried flowers I can't abear, lol

I have never heard of the snails attacking the cabbage tree (Cordyline Australis: Ti Kouka). Would the other strappy thing as you call it be our Phormium tenax, flax. It has tough leaves. Can be bought in many colourful varieties here in NZ

Cherry, have the same sort of problems, its warm and damp and sheltered in my back garden and the bugs LOVE it, though I try to be eco friendly have to periodically resort to vine weevil killer, putting it on very late and making sure cat stays in, also going out with flash light and collecting slugs and snails, its a constant battle between me and the bugs.............but the sun is shining and my little garden looks very lush Barbara............

Noooooooooooooo!! Me hate artificial flowers with a passion - they don't smell yummy!! I have made my siblings promise that Daddy never gets given them!! ;o)

Thanks for that Pink! I just love gardening but I'm thinking perhaps we ought to turn it into a concrete jungle! DIL has a silk flower shop, most beautiful realistic plants and flowers one could ever see. It's crossed my mind that maybe we should buy masses of her stock and artistically arrange them in the garden! At least we wouldn't be troubled by the drought order and hosepipe ban, lol Cherryxx

sounds like a nightmare - no tips just getting you off the bottom!! ;o)

We only have a small garden but it’s innundated with pests. Cannot grow anything without the bugs arriving in droves and eating everything in sight! We’re not alone, the neighbours either side have the same problem. Common ivy and even Hedera will flourish up the dividing brick garden walls and Mind Your own business (proper name I think begins with a “c”?) makes a lovely green mat. Pieris, acers and azaleas in tubs manage to fend off the invaders Vine weevils chomp their way through window boxes, hanging baskets and towers. Roses I won’t mention. Last week I bought a Cordyline Australis as the other strappy plant (can’t remember the name) I bought last year seemed to do well but this morning I nearly wept when I discovered that the snails had all but decimated a dozen leaves. We used to have an acre and a half of cultivated garden, just 17 miles north of here and never had these problems. Have you any idea why? We live by the sea, Eastbourne, South Coast. Any advice appreciated, thank you Harry. Cherry

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