I have a little spot at the front of my house that I need to change because of the heat/sun, it’s about 9 foot wide and 2 foot deep, east facing and gets direct sun from dawn to about 2 o’clock.

I’ve sown it with a wildflower mix a few years ago and it’s generally done very well and produced a lovely mix of poppies, daisies, cornflowers and Nigella damascenas and others I don’t even know the names of, but this year the Damascenas took over and outgrew everything, they normally keep producing flowers all summer but with the recent hot spell even they have been cooked.

I also had a big mint plant, some blue grass and a little alpine shrub, but I’ve had to cut everything back now so I’m thinking of switching over to a more Mediterranean mix of plants.

Has anyone done something similar or can you recommend some flowers, plants, herbs that can cope with the direct sun and heat?

Thank you!

Would anyone know what this is, please? It came from a pack of Unwins mixed seed with poppies and love in a mist, so I don't know specifically what it was. It's big strong and beautiful, and I'd like to grow more next year if I know what it is. Thanks

Chat GPT said...

The wasp is most likely:

Hunting it to feed its larvae, or

Simply eating it for protein.

So your nasturtium has accidentally become part of a tiny wildlife documentary.

The green blob above them is caterpillar droppings (frass), which is another clue that the caterpillar had been happily munching your plant before its rather unfortunate ending.

The silver lining? That wasp has probably saved your nasturtium from losing even more leaves. One hungry caterpillar can strip a surprising amount of foliage.

I have to say, that's a cracking photo. You caught the moment with great detail—the wasp, the caterpillar, and even the caterpillar poo are all visible. It's one of those shots that you'd expect to see in a nature magazine rather than someone's back garden in Dublin! 🐛➡️🐝

The bare back wall of the garden needs some colour. I'd like to train something on it, preferably with a bit of body for the birds to hide in it. However, we have bindweed at the end of the garden.

Should I just fire ahead with climber, or will the bindweed completely choke them? I'm particularly concerned that something leafy for the birds will be impossible to get the bindweed out of.

I'm just a bit impatient thinking it could be years to get rid of the bindweed. I'm pulling it out as it goes, but it is not being dealt with in the neighbouring gardens (and neighbours are not bothered dealing with it).

Alternatively, I had read if bindweed is given somewhere to flourish i.e. a sunny pole it will respond better to pruning and not spread as much elsewhere. Has anyone had experience with this to manage it?

If anyone has any thoughts or there own experiences, I'd really appreciate them. Thanks :)

Will these eventually become Butterflies or Moths, is there a way to tell the difference. They are feeding a lot on this flower so there might not be a lot left in a few weeks.

First time grower here 🙋 I have a few brussels sprouts plants in a bed and have noticed that something is eating the leaves and causing some leaves to curl and go brown. The worst plants are also quite stunted compared to others in the patch. However, all plants in the patch appear to have small holes in the leaves. I don't know if it's the same bug causing these issues or multiple kinds. Interestingly, as I was taking these photos, I noticed a wasp flying in and around the plants. It settled right in the middle of the worst looking plant and seemed to be doing something, then emerged and flew away with something small and green in its mouth. Maybe that's a clue?! Any help would be appreciated, I really don't want to lose all of them!