Cut this
Variegated foliage plants such as certain cultivars of pittosporums, hollies and euonymus sometimes throw out a green-leaved branch or two. Eventually, the whole thing will start to revert to plain old green, losing its dappled, striped or marbled charms, so cut these rogues back to the main stem as soon as they appear.
Read this
If you want to give a plant-loving friend a book for Christmas (or just treat yourself), Pollination Power by wildlife photographer Heather Angel (Kew Publishing, £25) is worth a look. It’s full of sumptuous photographs showing pollen grains puffing out of flowers, bees snuffling among the petals and even geckos lapping nectar from blooms.
Plant this
Rose-planting season is here, so it’s time to check your garden’s boundaries for blank spots that need filling. Rose ‘Summer Breeze’ will shoot up and out to clothe bare fences and walls, blooming right through from June to September. Height and spread: 4m x 3m. Buy one bare-root rose for £14.99 or two for £19.98 (including free UK mainland p&p). To order, call 0330 333 6856, quoting ref GU464, or go to our Readers’ Offers page. Dispatched this month and next.
