We’ve checked out a trial copy of a digital plant library called Horticopia here in the office – after all, not everyone here is a plant nerd and us real nerds have better things to do than answer questions and enjoy the sound of our own voices sounding smart all day.* It has all the info that you would expect from a quality plant encyclopedia, loads of pretty printable piccys and it can go everywhere with you on your laptop.

We are having a nice warm autumn with just a few cold nights. If you are thinking about planting a hawthorn hedge this winter, now is a really good time to strike a blow for the good guys and go after a few weeds. Perennial weeds like bindweed, docks, thistles, dandelions, ground elder and the rest behave just like any other deciduous plant as they head towards winter and dormancy (which is the plant equivalent of hibernation). They build up their food reserves to see them through the winter and to fuel the surge for growth that happens in Spring.

Guide to fruit tree rootstocks
It is about this time of year that the signs go up in nurseries and garden centres around the country, announcing the arrival of the main apple harvest.

And thousands of people boldly go forth to buy their apple trees (if you recognise the parallels with Star Trek here, it will be a source of enormous relief to know that there is an Enterprise apple.  Just don’t ask what it tastes like…)

As I have mentioned before, the Dastardly Dursley’s of Harry Potter fame have done not a little damage to the street cred of the Ligustrum family.  Privet Drive is no longer as attractive an address a it once was and some muggles seem to think that privet is out of fashion. 

Well, not with wizards its not. Apart from being an outstanding wandmaking wood, Privet has a few other magical qualities of its own.  Young Jasper (aged 10) from next door stumbled across one of them when in the garden just before Christmas and just before the freeze.

Tags: Privet