Latest news with #InsAndOutsPodcast
The Sun
14-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Sun
No mow May, ‘the Chelsea chop' & pruning rules – pro gardener reveals 5 jobs you must do now, that only take 5 minutes
WITH summer just around the corner, it's time to tend to our gardens. Fortunately, a gardening pro has shared everything you can do this month to get it looking amazing in just five minutes. 2 2 Landscape design guru Pollyanna Wilkinson of Pollyanna Wilkinson Garden Design and co-host of the Ins & Outs Podcast, shared the jobs to get done this month. Speaking with her co-presenter Jojo Barr, an interior design expert, she said: "May, I like to think of it as gardening Christmas. "It's a really, really busy time, there's so much to do." But instead of getting overwhelmed with gardening jobs, Pollyanna recommended spending just five minutes a day on the task rather than trying to get it all done at once. She said that for those living in the UK, there are five jobs you need to get done this month. Now the frost is gone, she recommends planting some Dahlias now to have them blooming in summer. The gardening pro also said now was the perfect time for the 'Chelsea chop.' She explained: "Certain plants really like this... It's basically when you cut them down by half." This is to prevent the plants from becoming too big and unruly and will delay their bloom to flower later. She also recommended planting seedlings outside now as the weather was just right for them to grow. B&M shoppers are giving their gardens a summer glow up with £12 bargain For those who like to grow Alliums, the gardening whizz had an extra tip to make them look better. The leaves often go yellow before they bloom, so Pollyanna recommended pruning them back as soon as they've gone yellow, as it won't affect the flower blossoming. She also urged avid gardeners to not mow their lawn this month. While you may feel the urge to cut it back, she said it was vital to keep pollinators such as bees thriving through the summer months. 8 must-have plants to brighten up your garden Nick Hamilton owner of Barnsdale Gardens has shared his favourite plants and flowers you should consider adding to your garden, borders and pots. Tricyrtis A spectacular plant that gives a real exotic feel to any garden with its orchid-like, spotted flowers giving the impression that this plant should be tender but it is 'as tough as old boots!'. Penstemon I love this plants genus of because most will flower all summer and autumn. They'll grow in sun or semi-shade in a well drained soil and produce a non-stop display of tubular flowers in an array of colours and colour combination to suit all tastes. Luzula sylvatica 'Marginata' With the evergreen leaves edged with yellow it's great asset is that it will grow in sun or shade in any type of soil and is great as groundcover in the hardest spot to fill - dry shade. Eryngium x zabelii 'Big Blue' A stunning, nectar-rich plant that will feed the beneficial insects in your garden. Leave the flowerheads once they have turned brown because they look stunning with winter frost and snow, extending the plant's interest period. Sarcococca hookeriana 'Winter Gem' If you need winter scent then look no further than this compact, evergreen shrub. The scent is stunning and the evergreen leaves create an excellent backdrop for the summer flowers. Cornus sanguinea 'Anny's Winter Orange' A dwarf version of 'Midwinter Fire' the very colourful stems create a stunning winter display, particularly on sunny days. Rosa 'Noisette Carnee' A very well-behaved climbing rose that is perfect for training over an arch, pergola or gazebo. The small, 'noisette' flowers are blush-pink and produce the most amazing clove scent constantly from June to November. Sanguisorba hakusanensis 'Lilac Squirrel' I've never seen a squirrel with a drooping, shaggy lilac tail, but this variety will give your garden an unusual and different look throughout summer. It does need a moisture retentive soil but will grow in sun or semi-shade. Not only does it help them, it also helps your garden thrive. You can get back to mowing the lawn in June or July and know you've done your bit for the environment. And if you want to continue helping the bees, you can leave them a treat in the garden. Using an empty shallow pot, fill it up with one part sugar and one part water to give bees an energy boost. Bees can get tired if they aren't feeding off nectar and the sugar can give them enough energy to fly and find new flowers for pollen.
The Sun
06-05-2025
- General
- The Sun
The £1.50 solution that keeps ‘gross' flies out of your home for good this summer, it looks & smells pretty too
SUMMER is great for being able to leave doors and windows open for some fresh air - but not ideal when it comes to flies. If you have a problem with pesky flies inside your home, there thankfully can be an easy solution. 5 5 A listener wrote into The Ins & Outs Podcast, which focuses on all things interiors or exteriors, and asked what to do about their insect problem. They asked: 'How do you keep flies outside with the door open in a stylish, not plastic way?' The question was then answered by podcast hosts interior design expert Jojo Barr and garden and landscape design guru Pollyanna Wilkinson. They shared: 'I'd say to effectively keep flies outside your house you need to prioritise sanitation and remove food and breeding sources. 'If you've got food left out, the only reason flies are coming into your house is because they can smell food. 'If they can smell trash containers. 5 'Have you got wet cat food on show cat? You know dog food. 'The only reason they're coming in is because they can smell your trash.' However, they did clarify that if you're 'a very clean person, you've covered your food, you've cleaned your spills, you don't leave any pet waste out, and you dispose of your rubbish', there can be some exceptions. The experts offered up one solution which can help: beaded nets that can be placed across your door, similar to what you get in butchers. However, if you are looking for a more aesthetically pleasing solution you can try a ' fly repelling plant'. They advised: 'There are certain plants, like basil, mint, lavender. 'You can hang all sorts of lavender around the house, like little posies.' 5 Worm trick Entomologist Darragh Ennis took to TikTok to share his advice for getting rid of the pesky bugs - called fungus gnats - as he admitted they even annoy him. They're also "really hard to get rid of", even with chemicals, particularly when they take hold of your house plants. But an invisible method of keeping them at bay works a treat, Darragh explained, and they're called nematodes. While you've "probably never heard of them", they're "little microscopic worms that live in the soil" and are "probably the most common animal on the planet", but are invisible to the naked eye. They get rid of the flies by crawling inside of them and killing them from the inside out. It might be "gruesome" but it's an entirely natural way of killing the bugs. You can even order the nematodes on the Internet, and they come in a small packet. Once they're arrived, put them in a watering can, add water and pour onto your house plants. Why do flies come out in summer? Flies are present all year round, but all of a sudden when summer comes, they are just EVERYWHERE! The main contributing factors are the breeding cycle of flies and the soaring temperatures. Insects are cold blooded and in summer, when their body temperature rises from the external heat, they become more active. The hotter weather also let's them seek out cool moist spots, like inside your home, to escape from the sweltering heat and to lay their eggs. House Fly eggs take around 20 hours to hatch, but when the temperature rises above 37 degrees, can hatch within 8 hours! In extreme hot weather the eggs can mature from larvae to adult fly in as little as four days. The average lifespan of a housefly is 21 days, so each female can lay up to 900 eggs during the summer months!
