Your gardening questions answered: Is it too late to plant my bulbs?

Blaine Moats

Where do hedgehogs live?

We asked you to send in your gardening conundrums that you’d like Adam Frost’s help and advice on. Hundreds of you sent in questions, and here, exclusively for subscribers, Adam answers a selection.

Looking for a greatgardening book to read or gift this Christmas? Here’s my pick of the crop from this year’s harvest.

You know that old saying that “friends don’t let friends grow annuals”? I now ignore that sentiment. Some of the best plants in my garden are annuals, and they are more than worth the effort of growing them every year. Annuals add bold color to my containers and beds, fill in spaces beautifully, and bloom for longer than any coneflower (Echinacea spp. and cvs., Zones 3–9) or phlox (Phlox spp. and cvs., Zones 3–9), so they bridge the flowering gaps between my perennials’ bloom times. But over the last few years as I’ve strolled the ever-more-homogenized aisles of the garden centers in my area, I’ve found myself bored silly, and in sticker shock. I always buy a few standard sweet potato vines (Ipomoeabatatas cvs., annual), calibrachoas (Calibrachoa cvs., annual), and coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides cvs., Zones 10–11), of course, but if I want something a little different, I grow it from seed.

Robins can lose up to 10% of their body weight keeping warm over a single winter’s night. With reports that the La Nina weather system may bring harsh cold spells in winter 2022-23, added to the problem of disappearing food sources and habitats over the UK, robins – and other garden birds – could do with some support this season.

Blue moths are not just a mesmerizing sight in your backyard but a symbol of a thriving ecosystem.

December is all about indoor gardening. There is a plethora of holiday plants to choose from.

A is for annual membership of one of Ireland’s world class great gardens open to the public. Examples include Blarney Castle in Co Cork (12-month adult pass, €100, blarneycastle.ie); Mount Usher in Co Wicklow (€40, mountushergardens.ie); Killruddery in Co Wicklow; (killruddery.com from €60-€100); and Mount Congreve in Co Waterford (from €70, mountcongreve.com).

Small Space Garden Design Ideas from the Pros Learn how to make the most out of small garden spaces from 4 designers. Elevating Small Space Gardens

Mushrooms in the garden can be an unsettling sight, indicating changes in the soil and in growing conditions generally. While growing mushrooms is becoming more popular as a home interest, fungi can be unpleasant in gardens when they arrive out of nowhere. These unplanned garden guests can also be toxic, so you’ll want to remove them if you have curious children or pets.

Natural swimming ponds serve a twofold purpose: not only can you (obviously) swim in them whenever you fancy a refreshing, chill dip, but they also look beautiful in a garden, replacing the luminous blue sterility of a normal chlorinated pool with a wilder look. As such, they are much in demand, though creating one requires a little forethought and consideration of a number of moving parts. With that in mind, we spoke to Tim Evans, owner of swimming pond specialists Gartenart, about how to make one work in your own garden.