I have a four-year-old lemon tree, in a generous-sized pot, which has survived many winters outdoors (in a fleece). It is big and strong, but has never produced a single lemon, nor a flower for that matter. Where am I going wrong?
Although lemons survive out of doors in milder areas, flowering and subsequent fruiting is dependent on warmth. They will flower all year round given sufficiently high temperatures, but spring is prime time and yours spends every spring recovering from its winter chill. Lemons do best with a winter temperature of between 10C and 20C (overheating in winter can also suppress flowering), so move it into a conservatory or a frost-free greenhouse, or just indoors into a brightly lit but cool spot such as a porch or unheated utility room. Do this now, before the nights get too cold, and keep it inside until the weather has really warmed up in spring. Don't panic if only a tiny fraction of flowers turn into fruit; this is normal. Those that do can take up to 18 months to ripen.
On one side of our garden we have a mixed hedge, including service trees and viburnum. Can you just let them grow, or do they need to pruned? I prefer a wild, left-alone look.
The trouble with leaving hedges 'wild' is that they quickly turn into rows of trees and are then of little use as boundaries. Regularly pruning it into a hedge shape would make it thicken out below, but you could be a bit different and enlist the services of a hedge layer. Plants regenerate from the base after being cut almost all the way through then laid at an angle ('laid' hawthorn hedge, pictured left). Old and neglected hedges benefit most, although you can lay a fairly young hedge, too. It's good for wildlife and a part of our heritage and all that, but I'd go for it just because it looks great. The National Hedgelaying Society (hedgelaying.org.uk) lists contractors.
Plant it now...
The shasta daisy is what a five-year-old would come up with if asked to create a flower: a ring of pure white petals with a bright yellow centre. It flowers from mid-summer to mid-autumn. It fares well as a cut flower, but is actually a little stinky, so is perhaps best left in the garden. There are lots of fancy cultivars with double centres or twisted petals, but in this case original is definitely best. Grow in well-drained soil in full sun or a little shade. They form a chunky clump and will need dividing and replanting every couple of years in spring, when a square of bamboo canes tied together will stop the flowers flopping.
Readers can buy three shasta daisy 'Phyllis Smith' in 9cm pots for £13.95, or nine for £36.85 (price includes UK mainland p&p). Call 0870 836 0908, quoting ref GUPW01.