How do you kill ivy permanently? If the ivy is growing on a wall, cut through the stem with a sharp saw, dig out the root, and wait for the foliage to die before removing the stuck-on stems carefully with wire brush. If it is covering the ground, dig it out with a mattock, spade or fork and dispose of it away from the garden.

Where is the best place to plant a Pieris? Where to grow pieris. Pieris requires acid soil which is moist but well-drained, and a sheltered, partially shaded spot. If you don’t have acid soil then choose a compact cultivar and grow it in a container of peat-free ericaceous soil.

How do you kill brambles and ivy? Cut back stems of established plants, and treat the regrowth in spring and summer with brushwood killer. Treat the foliage of seedlings and young plants with a systemic herbicide, which will kill the roots as well as the top growth.

Why does a fox keep pooping in my garden? Foxes use faeces to mark their territory; that is why the faeces are always left in conspicuous places, eg: on top of a compost heap or on garden walls. Excessive fouling is often due to immature foxes attempting to create their territories or where several foxes are competing for a vacant territory.

How do I make garden borders with railway sleepers? Cut your sleepers to your required length, which could be random for a rustic look. Then mix up some lean mortar, such as 6:1, to be used as a concrete base and haunching. Place at least a 50mm bed of concrete in the bottom of the trench and start inserting the sleepers, haunching them up as you go.

What happens if you feed magpies? Should we even feed magpies at all? Murdoch University’s Healthy Wildlife, Healthy Lives website discourages feeding, saying it leads to “nutritional imbalances, increase the risk of disease, and lead to a disruption in natural animal behaviour”.

What do you line a wooden planter box with? Line the planter with porous landscape fabric: The landscape fabric will allow water to drain out of the container while preventing wet soil from directly contacting the wood and reducing its lifespan. The fabric also will prevent soil from escaping through any wide gaps in the wood.

What will keep magpies away?
Deterrents for magpies

Half-full plastic bottles or CDs hung up in trees to scare the predators away. Magpies don’t like the way light reflects from the surface.
GuardnEyes scarecrow balloon, available from Dazer UK.
It may be possible to deter them by playing a tape of a crow or rook distress call.

What grows best in an east facing garden? East-facing gardens are shaded in the afternoon, with most of the sunshine in the morning hours. East-facing gardens are great for growing edible crops such as carrots, peppers, leafy greens and plenty of ornamental plants.

Can I prune Buddleia in summer? Buddleja alternifolia should be pruned as it finishes flowering in midsummer. Cut back all the stems that have flowered to healthy buds, to produce flowering wood for the following season. Buddleja globosa should be pruned just to maintain a good shape or remove dead and damaged shoots.