Wow Pete, that is a ridiculous amount of ensetes. Kerinsian, I over-winter mine potted in the conseratory. We don't use the the conser vatory during winter, it is purely for plant storage so unheated. It is not warm enough for any growth but with no additional water it is fine. I find it the easiest...

Great photo, but unusual to see a urinal in a hotel room. You'd think with them being for the rental market they would only be fitted with unisex fittings. Unless it's to cater for all the ladyboys, or like Dave said, it's a bachelor pad. There must be a sit-down lav in there. Lads have to take a d...

Ouch! I feel his pain. My garden is relatively benign from this perspective, but I have often had my hands torn to shreds when trying to remove old dead leaves from Chamaerops humilis and Dasylirion seratifolium. I may be foolish for doing it without gloves but I find that the gloves keep catching o...

That sounds more reasonable. I'm sure the one I saw was double that.

Well done Libby. How many leaves has it grown since the last photo and has it been in the greenhouse all summer or have you just put it away for winter?

Any time between now and first frost would be ok for both.

It may be a year since we heard of it but they are still quite rare in cultivation and most people won't have seen one before. I spotted one at the Savill Garden Plant Fair back in may but was a bit on the expensive side unless they are bone hardy. As you say, It would be interesting to hear from th...

For a moment there I thought you actually tried to grow it as a marginal

Definitely one for good drainage.

Begonia grandis is quite a late flowerer because it is late to emerge from the ground too. Mine is in flower now.

Not unusual for cannas to be coming into flower now either, if they have been slow growers or late starters.

I suspect that the judges have been swayed by the tidy lines of the hard landscaping and the tiered effect, but this is more a consequence of geography, rather than any skill on the gardeners part. I have been toying with the idea of going in for my local 'In Bloom' competition. Has anyone else been...

I have been protecting mine with ever increasing amounts of fleece (can't be bothered messing about with straw) and it has always proved root hardy but last winter it finally mantained some stem, probaly due to a slightly milder winter and a few more layers of fleece. My advice would be to treat it ...

With (electric) heater running then that will dry the air (by increasing the temperature), and the fan will move it around thus reducing risk from moulds etc. Electric heat is the dryest because gas and parafin will add moisture to the air as a bi-product of the burning, so I totally agree with the...

Once the tree ferns take root, you won't be able to remove or replant the broms or Eucomis because you won't get the trowel into it for roots.

All the info I have read on pollarding, regardless of the species, recommends cutting just before the buds appear. So, that is what I do. I have never seen any explanation as to why this is, but it is an ancient practice and I believe that is how it is traditionally done. Funnily enough, I don't sta...

Simon, in previous discussions I was told that to accurately describe cerifera I had to say Chamearops humilis var argentea, blue form, which was why I challenged it as not making sense. Well that doesn't make sense, does it? The variety is blue, whether you call it argentea or cerifera it is still...