Hedgerows Worth Watching

These are the Bean Watch 2008 seedlings this morning.

Header image: What makes more sense: Sending a human or a robot to Mars? Credit: Juergen Faelchle/Shutterstock.com

When I bought my first house, way back in 2001, I was already an environmentalist. It started – as it so often does – with a childhood love of animals and a desire to save them. Back then it was all about dolphin-friendly tuna, the ozone layer, and and Food Miles. That first house came with a recycle bin, and to begin with we were one of the only households in the street to make use of it. We watched as recycling became more mainstream, and more people started putting their recycling out, and then as rubbish collections shrank and the hold-outs were forced to recycle.

First found in the United States in 1879, Zimmerman pine moth (Dioryctria zimmermani) is a small gray insect with zigzag lines of red and gray and a wingspan of 1 to 1½ inches. The adult moths are rarely seen, as they are active only at night. Females lay 20 to 30 eggs that are cream colored at first and then turn brown as they develop. These are laid under the bark near the wounds created by their boring into the tree. When hatched, the larvae grow into brown-headed ¾-inch-long caterpillars with bodies that vary from pink to green and are covered with black spots. Wintering over at the end of tunnels bored under the bark, they emerge in late spring to continue their life cycle.

Henchman has teamed up with The English Garden to offer one lucky reader the chance to win a 6ft Fully Adjustable Tripod Ladder, worth £339.

In the wide spectrum of horticulture, marigolds have long been considered the darlings, their gilded hues a testament to their name! Here are some Exotic Marigold Varieties that you mustn’t miss!

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CJ Wildlife has teamed up with The English Garden to offer one lucky reader the chance to win a National Trust Queens Bird Table, worth £119.99.

Decorative gardens can benefit from growing seedheads for their own sake. Flowers With Seedheads

Edgeworthia is a genus of shrubs that flower in small clusters of scented 4 petaled flowers tightly packed to form a ball shape. The genus is related to the Daphne family and can be grown in the UK with similar treatment and success.

Comfrey juice concentrate or nettle juice stink but Seaweed extract is a weed to feed your garden. In fact seaweed is arguably the best weed in your garden.

I picked a small bunch of sweet pea flowers from the garden today, snipping off their stiff, slim stems with a scissors and shaking the rain from their soft, ruffled petals before bringing them indoors to fill the house with their distinctive scent, a cloud of perfume that never fails to seduce.