Phil McCann from the RHS answers your gardening questions

[RachelMumsnet]

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is the UK's leading gardening charity. As a charity the RHS helps to bring gardening into people's lives and support gardeners of all levels and abilities; whether they are expert horticulturists or children who are planting seeds for the very first time.

Phil McCann, PR Manager for RHS Gardens, with support from gardeners at the four RHS Gardens, will be answering questions from Mumsnetters throughout this week. Whatever your query - from carrot fly to container vegetable growing, wisteria pruning to water-free gardening - Phil and the RHS team are on hand to give you advice and information.

Phil, who was previously Assistant Producer on BBC's Gardeners' World, is a trained horticulturist, a keen and knowledgeable gardener and allotment holder, a member of the RHS Vegetable Trials Committee and garden writer. Phil will be checking this thread each day and answering your questions on this thread along with his colleagues at the RHS. Final day for questions is Monday 5th July.

In return for posting a gardening question we will automatically enter you into a prize draw to win a pair of tickets to the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show next week. Each ticket will allow an adult and two children under the age of 16 into the show free of charge. Tickets will be valid on any day from Thursday 8 July to Sunday 11 July. For more information about the show visit www.rhs.org.uk/hamptoncourt.

[ArrietyClock]

A very late, (as we have been away), thank you. (Hope you read this Phil). Roses it is!

[GrendelsMum]

A quick post-Hampton Court visit update

Very different atmosphere this year from previous years I've been, I found - much more emphasis on hands-on growing and learning, much less on the spectacular show gardens.

I found the main show gardens a little underwhelming, tbh - especially Southend-on-Sea, who've come up with some spectacular displays in the past. Only a bronze for them this year. Mind you, having gone to East Ruston Old Vicarage on Sunday, the gardens were going to need to be amazing to measure up.

On the other hand, Small Gardens are very good, so I'd spend more time on them - go straight there. The Painters' Garden repays close inspection, there's some good hard landscaping on a couple of those, and a lovely wildlife garden for a very small town plot, plus an interesting 'abandoned garden' that was getting a lot of attention.

Shakespeare's Gardens are mixed - might have been more inspirational had more of them READ / SEEN / THOUGHT ABOUT the bloody plays. (Ahem, former English teacher alert.) But the Merchant of Venice was done well - the others wimped out by saying 'ooh, bright colours because the characters are so passionate'.

One of the Conceptual Gardens is very good - the Cornish exhibit, but the comic thing is that all the plants come from Norfolk, except the rather sad looking eringeums (sp?) to one side. Generally, the Conceptual Gardens and the Sustainable Gardens are good. Chatted to the man with the cornflowers, who said he grew them all on his patio - 300 pots, taking an hour to water every evening.

There's a new 'Home Grown' exhibit which was far and away my favourite, and I think most people's favourite, judging by the comments - fell in love with the ducks, everyone loved the 'market gardening' part, and kids would like the big tractor in the 'agricultural' area. You have to check out the polytunnels they have there - very interesting both for structure and contents!

For the kids, there's Shakespeare's Scarecrows. You can also sit down and picnic around those, which is handy to know! DirtGirlWorld will be there on Sat and Sun. And I think that the Home Grown exhibit would be popular, with ducks, chickens, tractor, etc.

Weirdest thing seen at show - inflatable greenhouse.

[isthatporridgeinyourhair]

Hi Rachel - I've emailed you.

[RachelMumsnet]

Great news Porridge - I emailed you yesterday asking for your details so we can get the tickets over to you - did you receive it? If not, could you please email us ([email protected]) your address/phone number and let us know which day you'd like to go along (any time for Thursday 8th - Sunday 11th July) Also can you confirm you're happy for us to pass on your details to Jennie - our contact at the RHS. Have a great day Porridge (Justine went along on Monday and said it was amazing)

[deepdarkwood]

congratulations, Porridge. And thanks again, Phil

[taffetacatski]

great thread, learnt loads

congrats porridge!

[ASmallBunchOfFlowers]

Belated thanks from me too for a funny and informative Q&A.

When Phil comes back, can we ask him what his favourite biscuit is?

[catinthehat2]

Enjoy yourselves Porridge-persons.

Have a look at some lewisia,peonies, and ceanothus for me. And maybe check out any large wooden cold frames, and give them a little stroke and whisper my name.

[isthatporridgeinyourhair]

Wow - thanks Rachel, the lovely Phil, MN and the RHS. Hampton Court is my favourite RHS Show so I'm really chuffed.

GM - let me know what you think! Are those plants planted yet? PorridgeBoys will be in attendance. You need to develop a love of gardening early on.

[GrendelsMum]

Congratulations Porridge! I'm going tomorrow - look forward to hearing what you think of it. Will you take the PorridgeBoys? I can't even take DH and expect him to behave properly at Hampton Court.

[RachelMumsnet]

Congratulations to isthatporridgeinyourhair who has won a pair of tickets (each allowing 1 adult and 2 children) for the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show. We'll be contacting you by email porridge, to let you know how to go about claiming your tickets.

Big thanks once again to all of you who joined in this Q and A and again to Phil for doing such a sterling job answering our questions. We'll be linking to an edited archive of this thread shortly.

[Saker]

Thanks Phil!

[SwansEatQuince]

Dear Phil,

I have found a group which are working for the preservation of apple trees in Tayside, especially with the old forgotten species like ours.

We now intend in creating an orchard rather than be coerced into removing any existing trees.

Many thanks for your advice on this plus all the other questions. You have gone the extra mile in trying to answer all of us.

[G0ingPostal]

Just to second GrendelsMum - thanks Phil for a great Q&A. You must have been putting in a bit of overtime to get all these answers back!

[GrendelsMum]

Dear Phil

Thanks very much for all your time and hard work answering all these questions. The Magnolia will move forthwith (well, maybe in November). Maybe I'll see you at Hampton Court!

GM

[mummylin2495]

gets questions in quickly in case i miss him !!! hi again phil ,firstly when a bottle brush has flowered do you cut plant right down or just under where it has flowered ? i have been told both ways and dont know which is correct.Also i am having a competition with my brother to see who grows the biggest sunflower,he is away at the moment so any secret tips to give me

[RachelMumsnet]

Wow thanks to all of you who sent in questions. I think catinthehat has just summed things up when she says, ' I think we like this chap'. Huge thanks to Phil for joining us this week - and working so hard to answer such a vast number of questions. We'll be archiving this thread to make it a little easier to follow and we'll certainly see about getting Phil to join us later in the year for an Autumn Q and A.

A quick reminder that today is the last day for sending questions to Phil. As we said at the beginning of the thread, if you've sent in a question to Phil, you've been entered into a comp to win tickets to the RHS Hampton Court Flower show next week. We'll be announcing the winner this evening.

[catinthehat2]

While you are there, could you leave a little trail of biscuits or something to entice Phil back for another Q&A, maybe in the Autumn?

I think we like this chap.

[JustineMumsnet]

On my way to flower show this am - hoping to meet Phil McCann and get some inspiration for my mudpit of a back yard.

[tjacksonpfc]

Hi Phil

am i to late now to ask a question only just seen the thread.

we took over an allotment 12 months ago that had been abandoned for 20 years it was in a right state. we are slowly clearing it but with in a week we go back and the weeds are knee high again. Some people ahve said if we put potatoes in it will clear the soil is this true? also how long doe sit take for weeds to die off if you cover them in plastic.

thansk it feels like we are drowning in weeds.

[Ingles2]

Awww Thanks Phil
for your reply to my question (I've watered, mulched and tied in today)
and for being such a fantastic and thorough guest.
Please come back soon xx

[solo]

I agree with mummylin

[mummylin2495]

Thankyou Phil,i hope you are coming back again as i would like to ask you another couple of things.I think you should now be an honoury member of MN !

[isthatporridgeinyourhair]

Oh Phil, you've been lovely. And deserve a MN medal for all your gardening advice.

[Earlybird]

Phil -

Thanks very much for your advice.