Welcome to my potting shed! This is the column where I’ll share all my gardening hints and tips – and I’ll try to answer any queries you may have.

the untidy.A Q It’s This first temptingyear– time.H. Chalmers,I’ve Theyto growngive are them Berwick.now shrubbya lookingprune salviasin a latebit for summer,the better plantto but waitto frost,that until wouldwhichyou see could expose fresh kill the growththem. core It’sin of late March and cut them back then.

Clearadd liquidany fallen barley debris straw fromto control ponds and blanket weed.

Q terracottaI’ve been pots, given eacha pair 1.2m of tall, very and smart was hopingplant in for them. some– Kathleen suggestions Adams,on whatvia email.to

A “Alboaurea’The Japanese would grass, look Hakonechloavery handsome. MayraIt has a round, smart, even flowing when habit the that foliage looks turns good brownall yearin winter.

Plant Cyclamen hederifolium around

trees where they will eventually produce carpets of pink and white flowers and heart-shaped leaves.

Q One boundary of my garden sits on very damp soil. Are there any hedging plants that will cope? – Andrew Marshall, Lanark.

A You could grow the red-stemmed willow, Salix purpurea ‘Nancy Saunders’, which has attractive silver foliage.

Plant out seedlings of sweet Williams

sown earlier in the summer.

Q I have some bamboo in my garden and it is now sprouting everywhere. How can I get rid of it? - E. M., Lanarkshire.

A Cut down stems in late autumn then, in late spring, treat the fresh growth with a glyphosate-based weedkiller. Next autumn, cut down all stems again. You may need to keep up this treatment for several years.

Dig up parsley plants, pot them up and

bring indoors where they will continue growing for several months.

Q I divided a large clump of day lilies in spring but the replanted sections have produced very few flowers. - Amy Anderson, Busby.

A Day lilies are quite capable of having a good sulk when divided and this appears to be what yours are doing at the moment. Next year, when they’ve bulked up again, they should start flowering, just so long as they are growing in sunny positions.

Take cuttings of pelargoniums now to

over-winter for next year’s baskets.