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Q – In a hosepipe ban is it ok to use washing up water in the garden?

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Bunny – Totally fine as long as it’s not really fatty or gunky.Ìý Don’t use the water from the washing machine or dishwasher

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Bob – Sprinkle some soil over after watering to avoid it smelling

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James – Detergent can actually be beneficial

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Bob – To save more water move lots of things into one big pot

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James – Use non-porous pots

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Bunny – Don’t overwater.Ìý Don’t water little and often; do one big water more rarely

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Q – I can’t grow rosemary in my garden; what can I do?

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Bob – Waterlogging will badly affect it.Ìý Maybe the pot doesn’t have enough holes or the holes are blocked.Ìý

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Q – This year I grew all my vegetables from seed.Ìý Everything was fine until the plants were 6-8inches (15-20cm) tall.Ìý Then the leaves curled and the growth was stunted.Ìý What could this be?

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Bob – As it is affecting all the plants (across breeds) I think it will be spray from weed killer/chemicals from elsewhere.

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Q – I started an asparagus bed from seed about twelve years ago.Ìý One plant is much better than all the others.Ìý Can I propagate from it?

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Bob – It’s best to do it from seed

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Bunny – Lift and divide in spring

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Bob – NO! They die

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Q – I’ve just moved into a place with a small garden.Ìý There is a big palm tree taking up a lot of space.Ìý How can I get rid of it?

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James – This sounds like Trachycarpus fortunei (Chusan Palm).Ìý If you take a lot of the foliage from around the bottom and raise the canopy then you’ll create more room. ÌýIf you want rid of it completely get a tree surgeon to do it.

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Q – My friend has a lot of horseradish on her land.Ìý What can she do with it?

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James – It’ll take a lot of effort to get rid of it.Ìý Try and think of it as a wildflower and you might enjoy it more!

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Q – I planted an informal evergreen hedge twenty years ago expected a pleasant 6-7ft (1.8-2.1m) boundary.Ìý It now looms at twice that height and is very thick.Ìý Would it recover if we try and tame it?

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Bunny – Hedging plants will respond well to being cut back so go for it!

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Bob – Ideally you get someone to help you with the disposal of the cuttings

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Q – What sort of hedge would produce the best fruits for my young children to pick?

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James – Chilean Guava

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Bunny – Gooseberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, white currants are all great.Ìý Try ‘Rokula’; a dark red gooseberry.

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Q – I have a large garden with lots of short grasses in it.Ìý How should I cut it?

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Bunny – Austrian scythe.Ìý Cut it in stages so that the wildlife always has somewhere to move it.Ìý Maybe add some bulbs in to give it some variety – native daffodils, snowdrops, crocus, native orchids.

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Bob – Don’t cut it all in the same month… spread it out over the year.

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Q – Last year I ran over my peony bush and it seems to be thriving.Ìý Is this tactic recommended?!

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James – It’s probably just a coincidence!

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Q – What is this tree? It has flowers like cream-coloured windmills.

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Matt – It’s a flowering Dogwood; probably Cornus kousa.Ìý There’s a great one called ‘Eddie’s White Wonder’.Ìý

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Q – Where do earthworms come from?

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Bob – When it rains it pushes them out of tunnels so they come up to the surface

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Q – In the morning my Phlox ‘Blue Paradise’ is blue, but in the sunshine it looks magenta.Ìý Why is this?

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Peter – It could be Purkinje Effect – when light levels are low the human eye becomes more responsive to the blue end of the spectrum

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James – It will be your eyes rather than anything in the plant.Ìý

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Bob – Borage goes from blue to pink as it ages; some flowers can change with the temperature too.Ìý

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Q – My dad is blind and loves highly-scented flowers; what can you recommend that smells good and is easy to care for?

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Bunny – Trachelospermum jasminoides is a great climber.Ìý Night-scented Stock.Ìý Tobacco plants.Ìý Sweet peas.Ìý For an evergreen try Sarcococca confusa or humilis.Ìý Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’.Ìý

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Q – I’m doing a school project on nocturnal animals.Ìý What can gardeners do to make conditions better for animals that are awake at night?

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James – Provide lots of cover.Ìý Wild tobacco (Nicotiana rustica) is great for attracting moths.

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Bunny – Meadows are great for encouraging bats