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Q – My new raised bed (3m x 1.5m (10ft x 5ft)) is going to be on compacted ground.Ìý What should I fill it for good drainage and the best for growing vegetables?

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Bunny – Pick axe the compacted ground so it will drain better.Ìý Line the sides with black polythene.Ìý I filled mine with old manure, top soil, and then I top dress mine with digestate.

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Neil – Get a cheap PH meter.Ìý For vegetables you want the soil to be around neutral.Ìý

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Q – Could you recommend a fragrant white rose to climb over an archway?

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Bunny – ‘Claire Austin’.Ìý It’s easier to manage than a ‘Madame Alfred Carriere’

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Neil – Go for a species rose.Ìý I love Rosa bracteata (The Macartney Rose).Ìý It’s not as thuggish as a ‘Rambling Rector’ type roses.Ìý If you had a Clematis Frances Rivis’ too then the bracteata would produce later flowers for you and would be a nice combination.

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Matthew – ‘White Cloud’, also called ‘Korstacha; it’s very fragrant. Ìý

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Q – I have three twisted Willows in a planter.Ìý How do I care for them over the winter and will they come back in the spring?

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Bunny – The leaves do go yellow in the winter; that’s normal.Ìý Do water them every three weeks over the winter.Ìý They are great to take cuttings from too.Ìý You’ll need to water and feed them in the spring.

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Q – How can I dig a pond on a slight slope?Ìý How deep should it be and what should I use as a liner?

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Neil – You’re going to need to build up a butyl liner with stones to make it look more natural.Ìý And some marginal plants to do the same job.Ìý

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Bunny – 3m x 1.5m (10ft x 5ft) is a fine size.Ìý Make it about 800mm (32inches) deep.Ìý Then use coir rolls to hide the edges.Ìý

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Matthew – Try and make it as deep as possible.Ìý It will improve the water quality.Ìý

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Q – I have a small Jacaranda tree which I grew from seed in July 2016. It is 19 inches (48cm) tall and in a conservatory. I know it will never flower but I would like some advice on its care. Can I plant it in the garden in summer or is it best left in a pot and what is the best way to overwinter it?

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Neil – You may need to scape some of the top off in the spring and put fresh soil on so you wouldn’t have to shift it up a pot size. It might need a stake on it eventually when it makes a timber. You may have to repot it every two to three years. I would not leave it out all year. I would keep it in a pot when you put it outside.

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Matthew – I would build a whole display around it. I would add in Cannas, Melianthus major, a Paulownia, Dahlias. Treat it as a foliage plant and put it all in in the spring. If you want a flowering plant that is like the jacaranda then go for the Albizia julibrissin f. rosea

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Q – What is a suitable sensory plant for a child with learning disabilities?

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Matthew – Anything with particularly fragrant foliage and texture. Helichrysum or lavender. Some of the grasses too such as Pennisetum villosum, Karley Rose. The house-leek (Sempervivum) – the indoor version like Lithops.

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Neil – Lemon verbenas or the Lippia citrioda or the Triphyllas. Tagetes limoniaii.

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Bunny – A wigwam or dome which you can grow sweetpeas and freshpeas up. Willow is a simple one to train around. Apple trees as well.

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