How to kill winter aphids and mealybugs | Alys Fowler

Winter is often rife with indoor pests and the central heating makes for boomtown for small suckers

My winter houseguests – the citrus trees, chillies and numerous other tender things that have to come in from the cold – have snuck in some unwanted extras: aphids and mealybugs.

Winter is often rife with indoor pests; the natural predators, ladybird and hoverfly larvae that might find their way in through an open window in summer, are deep in winter slumber, and the central heating makes for boomtown for small suckers.

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Gardening tips: plant midland hawthorn

Plus provide water for wildlife and visit Stowe Gardens

Plant this Make the most of tree-planting season to add a native species to your garden. The midland hawthorn, Crataegus laevigata ‘Paul’s Scarlet’ , is unfussy about growing conditions, reaching 5-8m each way once mature. It is smothered in double dark pink blossom in spring, followed by red haws.

Try this Providing water for wildlife during the cold season is just as important as food, so clean out bird baths and refill on icy days. If you have a pond that freezes over, don’t be tempted to crack the ice but instead place a pan of hot water on top of the ice until it melts a hole.

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Gardens: weeds to love and loathe

Though some weeds should be avoided, others are beautiful and attract bees and butterflies. All you need to do is choose wisely

Years ago, on my allotment, a tiny weed appeared among my beans. Out of intrigue, empathy – whatever the reason, I left it to see what it would become. A year later I had forgotten about it, buried beneath other weeds. Then, one dusk, there it was, a glowing white spire with the sun setting behind it: Digitalis purpurea subsp. albiflora, the less common form of Europe’s native foxglove. It ignited a weedy epiphany: what if these plants, seen as problems to be evicted, are a source of easy beauty in our gardens?

Since childhood I’ve felt a connection with weeds. Behind our family’s cottage garden in Buckinghamshire, I used to run through forests of giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum), understanding its sap was dangerous. I swung from vines of wild Clematis alba and stomped over ivy (Hedera helix). I fed dandelions with fertiliser to grow bigger flowers. From buttercups to daisies, weeds are probably the first flowers most of us know.

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Inside January’s quirkiest homes including a haven for cheese lovers

Take a look around.

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Living in the abstract: graphic patterns for your home – in pictures

Abstract design makes everything from cabinets to bedlinen to baskets 100% more interesting

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Living in the abstract: graphic patterns for your home – in pictures

Abstract design makes everything from cabinets to bedlinen to baskets 100% more interesting

Continue reading...

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Is this the worst time ever to invest?

Shares, bonds and property are overpriced – but there are still opportunities out there

Shares are shockingly expensive. Wall Street rose by 29% last year, as the market entered its longest-running “bull” phase in history. The biggest stocks, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet (Google) are together now worth $4tn (£3.1tn). Only 14 countries in the world have a GDP that is bigger than Apple’s market capitalisation alone.

Some stocks have seen gravity-defying increases. Tesla made just 365,000 cars last year, but at $85bn its market value is now more than Ford and General Motors combined – and they sell about 14 million cars a year.

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