Real questions from readers, with answers from Tomasgreen. Browse published garden cases or ask a question of your own.
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You have it outdoors in partial shade with steady soil moisture, which suits ‘Whipcord’ fairly well. The deciding factor is more often what the soil does during autumn and winter.
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The soft pink spikes reveal which kind of celosia it is. What determines whether it continues flowering well is mainly warmth, light and how the compost holds moisture.
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You describe a grey, milky coating low down on the leaves. In the photograph, it is on the older, lower leaves near the ground. That tells us quite a lot about the severity and what is worth doing now.
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The white, elongated fruiting bodies in your lawn look like shaggy inkcaps. In early September, you may reduce the next flush, but only by addressing what is happening in the soil.
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You found brown, slightly funnel-shaped mushrooms with gills in Hartungviken, Sweden, in early September. At first they look fairly recognisable, but a detail missing from the photograph determines whether they are milkcaps, brittlegills or something else entirely.
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You found a beige-yellow mushroom with a depressed cap in moss near Hartungviken, Sweden. From above it resembles a milkcap, but without seeing the underside or checking for milky fluid, the species cannot be identified.
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Your rowan in Hartungviken has a few red clusters but very few berries overall. The photograph and partly shaded position suggest limited flowering or pollination rather than a serious problem.
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Your rowan is still young in the photograph, but freely growing rowans locally do not usually remain shrub-sized. The growing conditions determine whether it stays a smaller tree or becomes considerably taller.
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The photograph shows dense clusters of bright red rowan berries, just the sight that tempts people to start picking in early September. The question is not whether they are ripe, but when they become worth eating.
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Your deep pink plant is a snapdragon, and the pot is what makes overwintering difficult where you live. It can still flower well for a while, but the next step determines whether you treat it as a seasonal plant or try to keep it.
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You mow every fortnight, yet the lawn keeps shooting up. The photograph shows both lush grass and plenty of clover – a typical combination when late-summer warmth is followed by more moisture and cooler air.
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The photograph shows narrow willow leaves and an old crown divided into several dense, rounded sections. The key is not only which willow it is, but that the shape is usually created and maintained by pruning.
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