A very happy Christmas to all my readers.

There are many shrubs that are pruned with shears. The bougainvillea is not one of them. The best way is to cut all the old flowering shoots with secateurs down to a few inches in length in order to stimulate the growth of new shoots during the rains. They produce flowers on the new shoots in just the same way as bush roses. Now a lot of gardeners treat hedges like soldiers. They must stand straight and regimental. They are clipped so that the new shoots grow very closely together (good shelter for birds). As I’ve just said I much prefer to have bougainvillea cut with secateurs.  It’s a longer job than using a hedge trimmer but does less damage. For those wishing to have a straight top to their hedges the best way is to stretch string between two tall posts of the right height at either end of the hedge.  However the informal look given by long flowering shoots of bougainvillea seems more appropriate than the military treatment.

For those of you with a penchant for growing sunflowers may I put in a word for our feathered friends this Christmas. Many of …..