Gardening tips: how to tackle powdery mildew

Plus: planting straw foxgloves and brushing up on Britain’s urban trees

Get this If you struggle to tell a sycamore from an ash, get to know the trees around you by reading Sylvan Cities: An Urban Tree Guide (Atlantic Books). This new book by the urban-wildlife writer Helen Babbs will open your eyes to the stories and the science behind our cities’ most common trees.

Plant this The straw foxglove (Digitalis lutea) is a more reliably perennial, less brawny version of the purple foxglove, with beautiful pale-yellow flowers. It’s brilliant for partial shade and easy to grow from seed sown outside this month. Alternatively, buy young plants to sink into moist, fertile soil.

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How to use the healing herb comfrey | Alys Fowler

Our gardening expert explains its benefits for both plants and people

My back is a little broken. I blame it on a bag of compost, although my chiropractor blames it on all the tapping I do at the computer. If I’m to harvest potatoes and plant pumpkins, I need a plan of action, a multipronged, throw‑everything-at-it approach: chiropractor, shiatsu massage, if necessary, painkillers – and comfrey.

Comfrey may not be an obvious choice, but it has always been such a kind plant to the garden that it should come as no surprise that is kind to the body, too. Once known as knitbone, Symphytum officinale has a long history of wound healing, particularly broken bones, torn muscles, sprains and aches. It was even applied internally, although many herbalists are cautious of using it this way because it contains powerful pyrrolizidine alkaloids that can cause liver damage and abdominal distress. However, only slight absorption occurs with external application. As such, a compress or poultice is considered more suitable for home use.

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Next stop, home: We live next to a steam railway

Will Brown and Marie Willey, the fashion designers behind Old Town, transformed a crumbling bungalow alongside a Norfolk railway, drawing inspiration from their utilitarian clothing

There is a certain kind of British modernism that is inherently appealing and cool, no matter how many high street brands try to tap into a mid‑century aesthetic. Fashion designers Will Brown and Marie Willey, who are behind the utilitarian clothing label Old Town, are the real deal. After living in Cromer for more than 10 years, the couple happened upon a post-war bungalow in Sheringham two years ago, next to the railway lines where North Norfolk Railway steam trains are parked before day trips along the coast.

The simple, single-storey building was “a total state”, Willey says. The pair reconfigured the interior, turning a small living room into a bedroom for Brown, creating a monastic loft bedroom where Willey sleeps (“I snore, Will doesn’t”), and building a large bolt-on extension to the back and side – accessed from the original hallway – that doubled the floor space. It has a bright vaulted ceiling, large Crittall doors and a grey-and-white checkered floor that unites the old and new parts.

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Cricket lovers will be bowled over by these quirky homes

They will knock you for six!

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Which budget turntable, amp and speakers should I buy?

I can spend up to £250 on a new or used system for playing old vinyl records

Every week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it’s up to you to help him or her out – a selection of the best answers will appear in next Saturday’s paper.

I’ve just inherited my dad’s vinyl collection and am desperate to listen to the records but don’t have anything to play them on. I’d like an old-school turntable, amp and speakers for less than £250 – either new or used. What should I be looking at?

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Will you be renting for life? Nottingham Estate Agents

Chances are you’re going to be in rented accommodation if you were born between 1980 and 1996. Those branded as ‘generation rent’ or ‘millennials’, are four times more likely to be renting at 30 than the previous ‘generation X’ – those born between 1965 and 1980, according to a new report from Resolution Foundation. Around […]

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