Infallible advice from the exp

T here is nothing better than biting into a sweet juicy tomato you have plucked from your own carefully-tended vine. But how often has that simple pleasure been thwarted by your own incompetence?

Two years ago my best-laid plans for a bumper crop were scorched by the sun after I foolishly decided to grow young plants in grow bags in an exposed part of my garden. The local supermarket did well at my expense.

Then last summer I decided to find a more sheltered spot beside a wall. But the fickle weather did an about-turn and all the leaves went black and mouldy. What little fruit that did appear quickly became discoloured and malformed - a victim of bottom end rot.

This year's attempt at keeping my home well supplied is going well - the plants are flourishing, the tomatoes are ripening and I'm making sure they are regularly fed and watered.

But I know there could be more problems ahead, which is why I have to hand the latest edition of Gardeners' Advice, compiled by those green-fingered experts at the Royal Horticultural Society's Advisory Service, who every year answer more than 60,000 enquiries on topics ranging from greenhouse spider mite to composting and soil care.

Four years ago a selection of their replies to the most frequently asked questions were put into a book to help mark the bicentenary of the society. Now a new volume has been produced by the team, which is based at the society's flagship Wisley Gardens in Surrey.

Packed with trusted practical tips for every gardener, there is no better tome from which to seek help about topics such as tiffany heart toggle bracelet how to get rid of aphids, slugs or plant diseases, pruning your roses, training sweet peas and attracting wildlife.

And there are some really good planting ideas, particularly when it comes to combining clematis with other choice plants.

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The natural habit of clematis is to scramble over or wrap around their supports or host plants. This habit, when utilised in the garden, allows their glorious blooms to combine with the flowers and foliage of other plants to enhance any planting scheme.

Rose and clematis are often seen happily entwined, thanks in part to their similar feeding and cultivation needs. These two plants have flower shapes and colour ranges that can contrast yet combine effectively together.

Early season clematis, such as C. alpina and C. macropetala, with their bushy habits, are naturally suited to training up and masking the bare stems of climbing or rambler roses, while early to midsummer-flowering clematis, including C. "Lasurstern", C. "Marie Boisselot" and C. "Nelly Moser", benefit from being thinned to five or six shoots before they are tied into a rose.

Fewer flowers may result, but these will be larger, better formed and more evenly spaced, resulting in a more balanced overall display, say the Wisley team.

Most large-flowered hybrids, Viticellas and compact species clematis, that flower from midsummer to autumn, make good partners both for evergreen and deciduous shrubs.

However, before planting any combination, take into consideration: the flowering time of each plant; how they will complement one another; and any pruning methods involved. These clematis need hard pruning in early spring and, for a successful display, all types need their young shoots tying in.

Clematis have more than their fai
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Is Coalition to blame for Conn

The truth is plain to see. The Government has [pounds sterling]100 million to waste on electoral and boundary changes -- 'political skulduggery' as labour called it -- but makes such drastic budget cuts to affordable housing programmes that the social housing construction company connaught plc is to be placed in administration. in June, the company warned that public spending cuts would see its revenue fall by [pounds sterling]80 million this year, and recently admitted that 'measures NHL Jerseys sale in the Government's budget would affect 31 of its social housing contracts'.

We're moving nearer to the abyss of total housing crisis because of this Government's policies. cameron and clegg will be guilty of crimes against humanity when the homelessness this will cause materialises.

HENRY PAGE, Newhaven, E. Sussex.

MAny people would have you believe the collapse of Connaught is a result of the Coalition Government's cuts in public spending.

Certainly the Left-wing press gives this impression. The truth, however, as detailed on the newly unbiased BBC was that Connaught juicy couture tracksuits was heading for the buffers in any case. its managers were quoting everdecreasing prices for an everincreasing amount of work from Government agencies eager to grab the lowest-priced contract. no doubt their backers have called in their loans because the balance MLB replica jerseys sheet, looking forward, isn't positive. But this hasn't just happened since the General Election.

Those debts, and the inability to service them, were accumulated under new Labour's 13 years of unsustainable growth.

The company, and its workers, are victims less of Coalition cuts and more of the dishonest expansion of Labour's boom years -- the same phenomenon that brought the banking system to its knees.

A. SMITH, London N5.

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Influence for good

NOTTINGHAM Speakers' Corner can make an important contribution to public life.

The organisation aims to encourage public speaking and debate.

It has already ghd iv styler organised a number of events on topics as diverse as football, cricket, crime, religion, politics and society.

The latest, held on Tuesday at the Council House, considered the need for, and potential impact of, public spending Mulberry Replica Handbags cuts.

The discussion offered comfort and gave cause for concern in terms of the city and county's prospects once spending cuts are made. It emphasised the need for voluntary efforts to be properly co- ordinated.

The Nottingham Post is a keen supporter of Nottingham Speakers' Corner. Encouraging discussion and broadening clip in hair extensions participation in debates can only strengthen communities and better inform policy makers.

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