Crazyzorse's Outbox

Eranthus hymalis I think is the botanical name

I remember hearing that old gardeners used to put a bit of fur in fruit trees so that birds would think there was an animal in there - presumably a stoat or weasel. Maybe a bit of teddy-bear material poking out from the plants would spook 'em? 'Scoot' works really well against cats, but don't sniff the steam it makes - ugh!

Hi there
Think that's just a bit of frost damage. I used to be a bit paranoid about my delphineums - they always seem to come up too early and of course frost damages them - I used to put buckets and plastic bottles and things over them! But now I just let them do their thing - some leaves get damaged - like yours - but they bounce back. In your piccy, the new young leaves look fine, so I wouldn't worry - I'm sure it'll be fine.

Laurel makes a cracking thick hedge that is good at absorbing noise. The dark green also makes a good background for flowering plants. Also consider Aucuba japonica (spotted laurel). Viburnum x bodnantense (sp?) flowers all winter (pink pom-poms) and produces lovely scent. All depends on space, of course. If your sister does not like her new neighbours, what about Cupressocyparis x leylandii...? te he... ;-)

What'o

Spraying with soapy water works for me. But you have to treat the undersides of the leaves too, which is a bit of a pain with a large plant. Maybe you could try brushing the leaves up the wrong way with a stick while spraying at the same time? Just a thought .... :-)