Agrumes

Very sad lemon

Kumquat

Before returning to London I wanted to give my citrus trees - all badly damaged a few years ago by exceptionally cold weather - a bit of a chance. The lime tree had been completely lost but all the others (orange, lemon and kumquat) had sprouted again after the affected wood had been cut out. Sadly only the orange had shown any serious signs of recovery. Both the lemon (in a large terracotta pot) and the kumquat (in open ground) had very spindly growth and few leaves. They are being given another chance but if they don't perk up this year they may be completely replaced. To start with the weeds have been cleared away, specific fertiliser applied (instructions say it should be given weekly; this can't be done in view of the time spent away, but it will be applied as often as possible), and - for the kumquat only so far - top dressing with compost from our compost maker has been added.

At least the orange tree looks healthy

Last year for my 60th birthday I was given a garden centre voucher, and one of the plants I bought with it was a blue hydrangea. This year it is once again covered with flowers, but they are beginning to look slightly more purple than blue, so I've bought a product specifically for blue hydrangeas, and begun to apply it. It's a bit late in the season really, though - should have been applied earlier. The recommendation is to stop the application in July and August then start again in September - I'll try to remember to do that!

Not-quite-so-blue hydrangea