Harvest veg and sow some seeds

This is a fungal disease causing untold damage to box stock throughout the country and it is hard to cure. The foliage and stems die back leaving unsightly patches of brown twigs. Infected stock needs to be cut out and the plant removed.

There are preventative measures such as spraying with fungicides but this would need to be done regularly over the growing season and prevention isn’t guaranteed.

Avoid clipping box in wet weather as this can spread fungal spores and don’t overfeed with the likes of nitrogen as this creates too much lush foliage which causes a humid environment in which fungi thrive.

On closer

inspection of ■ Deadhead roses to tidy up and encourage new flowers.

■ In the veg garden, as well as harvesting you can be sowing seeds – lettuce, beetroot, Swiss chard, spring onions, swede and spring cabbage. Feed crops with liquid fertiliser.

■ Aerate your compost heap by turning it over. If it seems too dry, add some water. ■ Keep an eye out for tomato and potato blight.

■ Strawberry plants that are sending out runners can be pegged down to create new plants for next year if your current plants are ageing. Otherwise remove the runners.

■ Lemon trees and other citrus fruit trees need feeding through summer.

■ my shrubs, the leaves were still on the plant but bleached white of colour.

This could be a form of blight which thankfully is not fatal – it’s called Volutella. Like other diseases, it often strikes when the plant is under stress and given the complete lack of rainfall over the last few months combined with severe winter temperatures beforehand, it’s no surprise they succumbed.

So, remedial action was required. First I sheared back the plant to green growth removing all white leaves – a cloth or some paper on the ground will help collect these clippings as you don’t want them on the soil around the shrub.

I’m also going to try Topbuxus which is a foliar feed which will boost new growth on damaged stock and includes a dose of copper to prevent ■ Make sure to leave time to enjoy your outdoor space and admire your gardening efforts! fungal infection.

Finally I’ll make sure to keep them watered while the weather remains dry.

It’s most important to clean your cutting equipment afterwards with some bleach or other disinfectant so you don’t unwittingly spread blight to other plants.

Neat: Box is great for creating crisp edging Box usually only needs to be clipped twice a year Sphere and present danger: There are prevantative measures you can take to protect your box

Make a note of what’s working in the garden and what could be changed next year. Citrus trees need feeding through summer

Box hedging can be crafted into all sorts of weird and wonderful topiary shapes

Plant seeds in the vegetable patch