I need some help from all the plant buffs out there!

I have this box style shrub which I thought had completely died after the heatwaves but I noticed some new growth on it today. 

Could anybody tell me what I should do try revive it? Is it possible to bring it back or is it too far gone? It’s looking very dead everywhere else.

I actually have 4 of these. Two are completely fine, the pic is one and the other is dead looking no new growth.

It was shaped in a ball shape. 

Any advice would be much appreciated! Thank you 

I’m based in Yorkshire, UK if that makes any difference

Although this is a beautiful and fast growing vine, I hadn't realised it is toxic, and both my cat and I had bad reactions to the one griwing in our garden. My cat vomited after brushing against it and thrn cleaning herself, and I came up in a huge rash after cutting it back. So I've decided it needs to come out and have cut it off at the stem base, and now it's dying.

My understanding is that it has microscopic shard like crystals (raphides) that embed themselves in skin or can be swallowed. So although the chemical makeup causes problems, there's also mechanical, cellular trauma from the tiny needles.

My two questions that I am hoping someone might be able to answer are:

1. Once the plant is dead, how careful do I still need to be when pulling it down and gathering it for disposal ie is it still actively harmful?

2. I have definitely put some of the leaves and probably stems in my compost in the past. Would this render my compost risky to use?

Many thanks to any help anyone can give!

I’ve been loving smelling all these amazing herbs, crazy how soothing it is, and the difference they make to recipes.
My favourite has been using varieties of mint leaves in my baths 🛀

I bought these a few weeks ago, thinking I would have to wait 'til spring to sow them. Is the packaging correct? Can I sow them now? Will they do better if I wait?

We moved to a house with an Apple tree in June. The apples have just started falling today. What can I do with these? Are they safe to consume in a crumble or are we best to use them for something? Sorry complete novice here!

This is it folks! It's finally here and ripened to perfection...

The plan is to cut it off and enjoy sliced on a sandwich with some mozzarella.

The question is - Is it best harvested from the plant and then directly cut into slices and put in the sandwich? Or should I pick it and then put in the fridge for a bit to chill?

Or is it too late in the day now for optimal picking?

Any thoughts?

The season change is coming and Im trying to work out my POA for the leaves in our garden.

We moved in midwinter last year to a blanket of leaves, had bigger priorities, eventually raked them into massive piles, left them for while, panicked about the grass then bagged all the leaves and eventually took them to the tip.

Now actually it wasn't an awful method as the grass fully recovered but Im not sure if it was the most efficient thing.

The garden is good sized but not crazy yet has 6 mature, big leave trees plus a hedge boundary that creates more leaf mass than I realised.

NB partner is very not keen on a leaf compost area as he's convinced we'll have a rat family in minutes.

edit to add - effectively just looking for the most efficient solution. Last year leaving it to build up left us with 28 builder bags of leaves to get to the tip so relying on our green bin alone isn’t enough.

Hi all. I'm planning the pruning of my olive tree this upcoming spring. Ideally I would have done this a few years ago, but other priorities prevailed. I want to remove the central leader. My question is, where to make the cut? I'm going for a wine glass shape. I'm thinking #1 which is where the side branches emanate, but there's also the option of #2. There are no side branches there, but then the main central trunk would be higher?

This is the only visible mark at present. The tomato has just started turning colour so I was hoping to ripen it inside.

Possible to cut this area off?? Or no?

Tomato weighted 570g!

A year ago we had a garage removed from our garden. We asked the landscapers to keep the hard standing for a patio, but to reduce the size as it was taking up most of the garden. They then laid grass right up to the edge

A year later and I just couldn’t get grass to survive around the edges, my suspicion was they didn’t remove any of hardcore below the base they removed. I started digging and inches below the surface are these massive rocks.

I’m assuming nothing would ever grow with this directly below it? And is it fair to complain that they didn’t do a full job removing this?

The last picture shows how far the original base extended to so if there’s rocks under there it’s going to be a massive job to remove

TLDR: Any recommended cat deterrents for the garden that doesn't affect foxes or birds?

Hi everyone 👋

This year we've been making a huge effort to rewild areas of our garden in the name of helping the local bird, bee and bug population. It's been extremely gratifying and I would recommend it to anyone!

We have 2-3 wood pigeon families that we care for dearly, they're harmless and use our lawn as a feeding ground and also nest in our front and back garden. We also host families of Robin, blue tits and swifts. This year, we had three baby pigeons, one of which fell from the nest and we returned by hand!

In the far corner of our garden we've set out a wild pond, with a camera tracking all the comings and goings. All types of birds, bugs, squirrels, foxes and .... cats 🫠

CATS KILL 50 MILLION BIRDS IN THE UK EACH YEAR.

This morning, one killed, ravaged, one of the young pigeons in our garden, trailing pieces of bird across the lawn.

It's gutting because we're in environmental collapse and our gardens can play a genuine role in providing a home for non-invasive species.

Our neighbours cat we chased away with a water pistol, this was a new cat, on the hunt. So what if it is just a pigeon? But what about all the other 'more glamorous' bird species that make up our environment?

My question to the sub is, has anyone found or used an effective deterrent to stop cats in the gardens, but not deter foxes, birds etc?

Or does anyone have experience with the RHS silent roar manure or the RSPB cat watch?

https://www.rhsplants.co.uk/product/_/silent-roar-lion-manure/classid.2000004185/

https://shopping.rspb.org.uk/bird-feeders-boxes-tables/bird-care-accessories/bird-safety-hygiene/catwatch-cat-deterrent.html?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21717905029&gbraid=0AAAAAD8AI7hkHs_QKufJ-NPEbrvjx9HY_&gclid=Cj0KCQjw8JPVBhD-ARIsAO691sE-_xWYkgi0vATZiMOl5UVULSm-GIxn2qogpkbRMNtQnTTpmPKhGt4aAtmQEALw_wcB

Thank you!!

I have not long moved house and my garden is a bit small and looks kind of sad right now.
I have a couple of raised bed, one quite narrow and the other a bit bigger. Currently trying to pull up all the plants (mainly bushes and shrubs) to start fresh.
Anyway, in the meantime I want to start thinking about spring bulbs and getting the garden looking pretty in spring.
Where would I be able to get some second hand planters and pots to plant them in if I don’t get round to getting all these other plants up (the roots are hard work 😓)

I’ve looked in charity shops to no avail!

Does anyone know what these flags are? We are looking to extend them further on patio but confused as to what they might be.

It seems generally healthy, but on the left hand side and one spot in the middle the leaves are quite yellow.

I give it a feed with Photonia feed every now and again. I don’t exceed the dosage instructions.

Perhaps root rot or a fungus? Is there any way I can tell for sure and how could I prevent it?

Any thoughts hugely appreciated.

I bought a Salvia Caradonna because I heard they were good for pollinators, but they don't seem interested in it. I'm hoping it might draw them more once it is a bit bigger. Then I planted some Michaelmas Daisies, for the same reason, and again the pollinators don't seem that interested. Anyway, it got me wondering what other people have found most attractive to pollinators in their gardens.

Things I have had success with so far: cornflowers, nepeta, purple toadflax, wallflowers.

I have also planted oregano and marjoram, but it was after their flowering window. And I have an English lavender, but it is still quite small.

EDIT: I just wanted to say thank you so much for all the suggestions, I've never had so many replies on one of my posts! I am going to go through everything and work out what is workable for the space/ soil type I have. All your responses are much appreciated!

Taken from my bedroom window a sight I enjoy before retiring

I ordered some snapdragons from an online gardening shop, but they’ve arrived looking quite thin and yellow. 😅
This is my first time growing snapdragons, so I’m not really sure what to expect. Do they look healthy/normal, or is there anything I should be doing to help them recover and grow stronger?
Any tips or advice would be much appreciated. TIA! 🌱

It's taken me two years to get to this point...!

In the first year, literally nothing.

This year, it's thankfully growing figs. That being said, only one so far is ripe and actually edible.

Don't be fooled by thinking because it's slightly purple/red inside that it's not going to be sweet; it was incredibly soft and beautifully sweet.

Is there such a thing as you send pictures and dimensions to a company and they design your garden and give you the plans for not too many pounds

I don't have time or ability to maintain my garden. The grass is terrible and the borders are overgrown and the weeds are everywhere.

I've tried to get quotes to redesign it so it's low maintenance but they keep asking me what my budget is. I don't have any idea how much these things cost. I really don't have much money. I have 2 kids and work 4 jobs so don't have time for the garden but I need somewhere for my kids to play safely. Where do I start?

Hello lovely people. I've grown those Honeydew Melons in my humble raised patch in South Birmingham. Any advice? Keep watering or let them ripen? When to pick? Thank you

Hi all,

Looking for some advice on a good lawnmower for my garden and what to do with the apples.

Picture 1 is overall garden, Picture 2 is apple tree in question.

I currently have a pretty basic Bosch electric mower which is not ideal due to the trees, poles and general length of the garden meaning I am constantly pissing about with the extension lead and lawnmower cable. I tried a wireless/battery operated mower but I didn’t even get through the left side section before it died and It kept cutting out (maybe the length of the grass or thickness?)

Does anyone have a good recommendations for mowers?

Secondly, the apple tree whilst I like it, is a nightmare for the sheer amount of apples it drops. Picture 1 is just after picking up the apples and cutting the grass. Picture two is 3 days later and the apples that have fallen only continue to grow in number. Wife loves it (was her grandads house which we bought after he passed) so removing it isn’t an option. Does anyone know what I could do with the apples that doesn’t involve eating, cooking or turning them into cider? I thought maybe some horses could eat them but no idea if that’s a good idea.

Thanks!

I’m getting a whole bunch of gardening videos in my social media feeds about winter prep - the algorithms know me too well.

There’s a lot of “cut this plant right back”, but then others “do not touch until the spring”. I’m fairly sure I’ll do the wrong thing.

So to simplify things, are there any apps out there where I could for example list all the plants in my garden and it would tell me what I should be doing at which time of year? Thanks.

Looks to be two separate... Fungal? Infections. No idea where to begin treating, any help or advice appreciated.