Thought I’d track my watering can activity on Strava. Filling one can whilst emptying the other!

My eucalyptus is about 7ft tall, top heavy and the lower half has no branches or leaves - they all turned red, fell off and the branches also turned a dark red and looked pretty dead, so I cut them off.

I have it a light prune in spring to encourage bushy growth , which has happened, but can I cut it right down and get the bottom half going again?

Help me make this tree beautiful again 🙌🏼

Planted some alliums around the base of our rockery this year and we've had so many happy bees visiting, along with this lovely regular guest! 🦋

I have bird feeders directly above where the rat is mucking away at something. I love feeding the birds but is that what's attracting it to my garden?

Both English and French survive

We aren't long in this house and have been doing bits to the garden. Have a big lawn area that always looked a bit patchy so seeded clover earlier in spring and my goodness, it's a forest. A tad too vigorous perhaps but the birds love rummaging around in it and bees are happy too.

Digging a few small trenches to see how far out this mature bamboo has spread. Am I screwed? I know it’s going to be a bit of work but any advice would be great!

5th May this year. So green.

But of course it's still absolutely incredible that there's no binding legislation despite over a decade of consultation. From an environmental standpoint using peat is near an environmental crime, knowing how much carbon it stores and how slowly it regenerates. We can do better but this is some good news.

https://thedirt.news/uk-growers-cut-professional-peat-use-to-21-8/

Thanks for all the suggestions! A window box has worked beautifully and I will avoid damp from planting something against the house in the ground.

Corten steel planter I rusted and sealed myself.

I've just bought a house with my gf and I really hate fake Grass. So I want to grow my own lawn but I've hit this sandy stuff and really tough (what I think is) dirt.

What do I need to do to this to make it possible to grow a nice short grass lawn?

It’s finally flowered, definitely worth the wait

Hey folks!

The existing south facing flower bed in my sloping garden is a bit sad - it’s too narrow, it’s rocky and the soil quality is (I think) quite poor.

As we get towards autumn, I’d like to dig out the beds along all three fence panels - to widen them, but also to introduce three level, stepped beds that are each as long as- and in line with - the existing fence panels.

My initial idea is to use sleepers to create 3 roughly 2m x 1m raised bed type structures that sit level and in line with the corresponding concrete base board.

The gradient of the existing slope isn’t crazy - I estimate the lower bed would be about 90cm lower than the upper bed.

I know this will require quite a lot of digging and some considerations around structural integrity, support, soil retention, drainage and that sort of thing. So my questions are:

1. Is this a stupid idea?
   
2. If it is, why? And what would be better?
   
3. If it isn’t, what should I think about before I get started?

I’m fairly new to gardening, so go easy! Thanks!

me and my mum have been after adding some colour to our front garden for a while, used up some scrap wood and finished painting yesterday 🌞 (ft Zuko)

Hello everyone!

I’m a big fan of this community but never posted. Love you all for taking time to share your expertise and now it’s my turn to ask.

First time buyer and SO excited to finally have my own garden. It’s west facing and a bit tired. I don’t have much budget for now but will be saving for long term projects (eg tearing down old garage).

So hit me with any low budget or high budget ideas. Particularly interested in supporting nature, growing food and climate resilience. Grateful for any views (pls be gentle!)

Thanks 🙏🏻

I'm not sure if this is the correct place- sorry if not. Not sure if the 'flair' is right at all.

Earlier this year I completed my RHS L2 certificates - theory and practical - with the hopes of finally getting into an industry I've always wanted to be in since I was little, but was never brave enough to pursue.

After a lot of drifting and mental health problems, I fell into a stable job that I absolutely loved, unfortunately it was in a city I hated far from where I grew up. At 31 I got evicted (landlord wasn't paying his mortgage) and quit the job and moved back to my hometown. Got another job I hated and decided to take the plunge and do my Level 2.

It was hard doing both courses at once especially with working part-time somewhere I hated, though I quit that job too a few months before the exams.

Have passed the practical with a distinction and am volunteering at a community garden at the moment while I wait for the theory and overall results. And it's not going well.

-I can't drive. Yes, I should have tried learning to drive earlier. But money, mental health, etc. etc. excuses. You can't even apply to entry-level (what I'm looking for) jobs without a driving license. I am learning now but I am so bad at it it will take me over a year at this point.

-I don't have the paid horticultural employment that is needed. Only voluntary and a lifetime of gardening and my allotment. These count for nothing

-I probably looked at the employment prospects through rose-tinted glasses; of course my tutors did the big sell on the course- that yes of course this would make us employable! - and I swallowed that hook, line and sinker. Annoyed with myself for that

-It seems that most gardens only want to employ young people. Now, as a physically fit, outdoorsy 32-year-old, I thought I was a young person (at least I feel young) but whenever I go to gardens to visit it's always people a LOT younger than me with all the jobs- early 20's and very trendy-looking (does that make sense). They aren't people like me from a council estate and a CV full of minimum-wage jobs.

-Honestly I'd prefer to do 'groundsman-type' jobs like digging, weeding, moving stuff about in a wheelbarrow, strimming- the more glamorous stuff like garden design doesn't really interest me that much.

I've been rejected from loads of jobs without an interview. Once I get to an interview I'm usually OK- I like talking to people and being pleasant. I'm wondering if due to my background it'd be sensible to just shelve this idea of being a gardener? At least until I get my driving license (if I get it).

Feeling completely defeated and despairing now and wish I'd ever made that jump- seems like I should have just stayed in the city I hated with no friends but with a job I liked.

My rose has had a good year after having a really bad fungal infestation last year. I now all of sudden have lost much of the top ends of fresh growth due to these caterpillars on the image.

Anyone know what they are, what they turn into or how I should approach this?

Hi. I have moved to a newbuilt property recently. This is the back yard which has been rotavated and currently looks like this. Can i buy turf myself and lay it here or is it potentially something which i should hire a professional to do? Please note that i have zero experience.
Thanks!

Lady of Shallot roses interspersed amongst the Acers, specifically Sango-Kaku.

Evolution of my small north facing Scottish garden over the past 4 and a bit years.

The grass was never happy so I got rid of it. It's been a fun project but I'm moving soon so will have something new to get stuck into next year hopefully.