Homeowner Forum / Lawn and Garden / July 2008

Someone of another Ng has posted a photo of a weed we used to have on a
previous allotment, but do you think I can remember the name!!!
Perennial, too deep rooted to dig out, reddish roots ( we called it Red
Root), hairy/spiny stem to 2 metres, leaves alternate with spines ...

Looking for advice on a tree to plant in my small front garden.
Don't want anything too expensive and would prefer an evergreen but
I'm flexible. My soil is clay builders junk/rubble.
Anybody have any ideas?

I've seen quite a lot of Oleander growing in Baden-Baden, Germany and
Seville, Spain and they seem to thrive.  Two extremes I'd say during the
 Winter/Summer.
Any advice for growing them in this country?

I AM DISABEDL ADN POOR. I LIVE IN LOW-INCOME HOUSING IN NYC.
I CURRENTLY HAVE ORDERED A BUNCH OF THINGS FROM DIRECTGARDENING.COM
AND OTHER PLACES, WHICH I CANNOT AFFORD., PERHAPS.
I COVET ROSES, IRISES, PEONIES, LILIES, AND ANY OTHER PERENNIALS OR

I planted some elephant garlic in tubs for the first time and most of them
have grown the way I expected. However one of them has thrown up a large
spike with what looks like a flower bulb on top.
My first question is should I nip it off or is it OK to leave it?

Just back from the annual one day ride down to Santa Barbara.  The
mountainside was ashen from the fires, some slight ash on the plants, but
air quality was better than what we've had here.  Driving back I could see

Hi my tree is 3 y old living in Brisbane,Qld.
The fruit this year has been dissapointing to say the least.
The fruit is small and hard with a not so nice colour to them.
Has anyone got any idea how to improve it. ?????

I'm writing this via Google Groups because Time Warner Cable decided
we no longer need Newsgroups. What a pain.
I was on here a little while back asking about getting a new belt for
my Pony model. The belt from NAPA down the street worked just fine.

<http://youtube.com/watch?v=awlX53EHdKg>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Campbell>
Got me shuffling through my library and brought a nod. Seems my garden
reflects or is inspired by this  in away.  Holding up a flower as

Can anyone give me some natural ideas for my blueberries and raspberries
that are being eaten by the tons of beetles that are here! We had gotten
beetle traps and placed them away from the plants but I think we drew all
the neighbors beetles also! I know we could spray but I ...

can i buy hydrangeas, and keep them in a more compact form?
if i cut them down, do i do this in the spring?
has anyone tried this successfully?
thanks,

I was outside yesterday and my daughter and I were admiring the
pumpkin plants. They seemed to have put on about 12-16 inches of
growth in the last couple days! Nice little flower buds on them too...
I went out today and every leaf was wilted and drooping! Emergency

I was talking to someone yesterday and he said that his allotment
society had now banned people from taking horse manure in to the
allotment area.
He said it was due to some dangerous "spores" being found in some

I had occasion to post some orchid photo links to the mystery group I read.
They are never on topic anyway so I figured I'd put my oar in the water and
post Greg Akllikas's picture link.  Show them something pretty.  Since a few
folks there are from Oz I showed them Ron Heberle's ...

I'm quite new to both bonsai and hydroponics, but I've been keeping a
couple Ficus, Willow, and Serissa alive for a few months in an ebb and
flow setup using lava rock gravel as the medium and supplemental
fluorescent lighting.