GARDEN GURU

Q I love gardening but feel like giving up. Last year I bought two greenhouses and put tomatoes and chilli peppers in them. Sadly, I got no return at all. What am I doing wrong? Jack Donoghue

It’s impossible for me to give A a definitive answer without knowing more about your growing technique. In general, though, your greenhouses should be in a light, sunny spot with shading provided in summer. Both vegetables should fruit if watered regularly and fed with a high-potash fertiliser once first flowers appear. Move plants into

bigger containers before they get pot-bound, and remember cordon tomatoes need pruning.

What do you recommend as

Q a winter-flowering hedge? Bernard McMylor

One of my favourites is

A

Viburnum tinus ‘Eve Price’,

an evergreen with clusters of scented white flowers that open from pink buds. Flowering on and off from December to April, it’s happy in sun or partial shade

I planted a lot of Crocosmia Q

‘Lucifer’ corms last year. After the leaves appeared, they were shredded by a pest. Are the culprits earwigs, and will the plants recover? Jenny Kemble

Earwigs eat the leaves of

A

many plants. In March, cut remaining foliage to the ground to allow new leaves. Trap earwigs by placing upturned pots filled with straw on small canes among plants. Each day, take any earwigs inside to another part of your plot.