ET Thorny problems - (Filed: 26/05/2001)

Gardener and lecturer Helen Yemm on Titania's garden, transplanting bulbs, mending a birdbath and over-kill on greenfly spray

Titania's bank

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, With sweet musk-roses, and with eglantine. There sleeps Titania sometime of the night

Where can I find plants to create a bank to impress Titania? Martin Littlewood, Caldy, Wirral

First the easy ones: various types of wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum), oxlips (Primula elatior - big, pale cowslips) and violets (probably Viola odorata - sweet violets) are to be found at nurseries specialising in herbs and native wild flowers. My "local" is Iden Croft Herbs, Staplehurst, Kent (01580 891432), which offers mail order.

Luscious woodbine has to be our native honeysuckle, Lonicera periclymenum, normally found at nurseries and garden centres in the form of 'Belgica' (early flowering) or 'Serotina' (late flowering). Even better, to my mind, is the vigorous L. periclymenum 'Graham Thomas', which bears creamy-white, luscious-scented flowers over a long period.

The roses are not quite so simple. Sweet musk rose is Rosa arvensis; eglantine is Rosa rubiginosa. Both are "wild" European hedgerow roses, heavily scented but with a fairly short flowering season though good rosehips. They do best on limey soil. I suggest you track down a specialist rose nursery for these. However, be warned: few rose nurseries will supply them until the autumn, the best rose-planting time being over for this year.

Lucky old Titania - this beats poly-cotton sheets and a tired duvet hands down - in the summer months, at least.

Transplanting bulbs

A year ago I transplanted clumps of muscari (grape hyacinths) and bluebells - in flower at the time - to a partially shaded spot in my garden. The transplants have not flowered this year. Could it be the site, the soil, or something else? Penelope Weightman, Harpenden, Herts

Bulb upheavals are not without their problems. While the site you chose may be fine - both bluebells and muscari cope well with less than full sun - it may be that two other factors have conspired against you.

First, there is the timing.

While some bulbs - most notably snowdrops - behave a lot more graciously if they are transplanted while they have leaves ("in the green" is the favoured term), other bulbs will sulk for a year or more if they are ripped up and plonked somewhere else in the middle of their show-off period. Daffodils, I know, can be cajoled with a little TLC in the form of a weekly foliar feed (with Phostrogen or the equivalent) on arrival in their new home. I have to say I have always considered bluebells and muscari to be among the more forgiving bulbs in this regard.

The second factor is depth of planting. Bulbs should be planted with at least their own height of soil over their heads. This means that for a bulb that is 2in tall, you have to dig a hole at least 4in deep. Could you have upset your muscari and your bluebells by planting them too deeply or, even worse, not deeply enough?

If you want to add to or adjust your transplant colony, I suggest that you wait until the candidates' leaves have died back (you will need to put markers in the soil before that happens, or you may mislay them) and then move them, taking care to plant them at the right depth.

If you are in nurturing mood at the time, giving them a sprinkle of bonemeal underneath will set them up for the years to come.

Frosted birdbath

Because of the severe frosts last winter, the bowl of our birdbath cracked and water now seeps through it. Is there a product with which it can be mended and sealed - one that will not harm the many birds and other creatures that use it? We have asked at a number of garden centres, but not received a satisfactory answer. Barbara de Rox, Thames Ditton, Surrey

Not exactly thorny, this one - but a common problem none the less.

My research led me to Sika, a manufacturer of waterproof mortar, which makes a product called SikaTop 121. This has apparently been approved for use where contact with human drinking water is inevitable, so I think it is reasonable to assume that it is suitable for birdbaths. I do understand your concern because it seems that many sealants contain fungicides that may not be bird-friendly.

SikaTop 121 is available from good builders' merchants. I am told you can use it to mend cracks and that it can also be made into a slurry to apply as a sealing coat to the inside of the birdbath.

Greenfly spray

Martin Kay (via email) says he almost killed his standard roses with a greenfly spray that he bought from a reputable garden centre/DIY store. I wonder if he used the right dilution - following the pack instructions to the absolute letter - or if he sprayed the roses in strong sunlight.

This year I suggest he (carefully) uses the tried-and-tested Roseclear 2, which will control aphid attacks and will also help with defence against blackspot and mildew - the terrible twins that seem to attack most roses (except for those belonging to people who need specs but are too vain to be seen in them).

Write to Thorny Problems, Helenyemm1@aol.com or The Daily Telegraph Gardening, 1 Canada Square, London E14 5DT. Helen Yemm regrets that she can answer letters only through this column.

-- Anonymous, May 27, 2001