News - Page 50

Colour plays a hugely important part of making a garden. The right combination of colours can create a sense of tranquillity, or add excitement and vibrancy to a dull space. Using colour in your garden is easy to do once you know the principles, and it opens up a whole new way of putting plants together.

The first sighting of ladybirds in spring is a sign for gardeners everywhere to rejoice. These cute little beetles with their cheerful red and black spotted coats are actually voracious predators, and they like nothing better than hoovering up pests such as aphids and scale insects. With each ladybird capable of eating around 5000 aphids in its lifetime, it’s definitely worth getting to know them better.

There is nothing more frustrating than finding pests and diseases on your lovely plants after tending to them with love and attention. Fortunately, there are many ways to minimise the risk of plant pests and diseases, mainly ensuring they receive the care that they need. But even after all of your efforts, they can still sneak up on your plants and be a real pain. Plants that are thriving, indoors or outside will not show any signs of yellowing or brown leaves or dry, curly edges. Whilst many of these could also be a sign of not optimum conditions, which in itself can lead to pests and diseases but this is a sign your plants are in distress. Keep a check on watering levels, light levels and make sure you have the right plant for the right place which will help to minimise any problems. So, if you are concerned about pests and diseases on your plants, this guide will help you to identify them.

Companion planting lets your plants help each other to grow strong and healthy, with less need for chemicals and pesticides. Find out which plants work well together.

National Gardening Week this year is from 27th April to 5th May and it is the nation’s biggest celebration of gardening. This great week is to encourage everyone to share the love and enjoyment of growing home-grown produce in the garden or down the allotment. The Royal Horticultural Society has set the theme as Edible Britain and will be celebrating all things grow your own throughout the week. But what can you do to help spread the word about the benefits of growing your own?

Plastic use is a big problem and one that we can all help to minimise by doing our bit. There is a lot of plastic usage in the horticultural industry but just about everything can be reused or recycled in numerous ways both in the garden and at home. It’s a great way to ensure plastic doesn't go to landfill and saves money at the same time.