e-mail Jane Owen with your gardening questions: jane.owen1@timesonline.co.uk

How can I stop the local squirrel population decimating my lawn and bulbs in both pots and the ground and nuts I hang out for the birds? Drew Smith, London

Pray to the god of the underworld that he comes and claims his disciples before they claim more of your plants and starve your bird population. Prayer is probably as likely as anything to get rid of these infernal pests. However, cayenne pepper sprinkled around vulnerable plants or foods can sometimes help - I'm told that some squirrels dislike anything vaguely pepper-y and so you could try conventional pepper as well. Having said that the pepper never worked on the squirrel population that decimated my garden in London. In the meantime put foot scrapers across the tops of your most precious bulbs - they always go for the expensive ones. Even squirrels can't budge foot scrapers and they will leave bulbs alone once strong growth begins.

I have recently acquired a small, north-facing Victorian terraced garden. I have two hungry chickens who have devoured all the plants the previous owner installed, and have reduced the lawn to mud. This spring, I would like to inject some greenery back into my garden - inedible, if possible - and in the summer, I intend to grow myself some vegetables. Space is limited, and veggie-beds need to be raised as our soil drains badly. Can you recommend a good book, or other source of advice, for designing small working gardens such as this? Catherine Watson, Swindon, Wiltshire

Given these stringent requirements, I'm having trouble concocting an effective, ergonomic design and assume that, given the rise of 'urban' eco-warriors, others must be having trouble finding a compromise between their feathered friends, home-grown goodness and chic outdoor living as well.

But this sounds like an exciting project. First the chickens, one of my favourite garden ornaments although mine always pecked my varnished toenails when I was working in the garden (maybe they thought my toenails were cherries).

There is an urban chicken coup called an eggloo (you can find it online) which comes off-the-shelf but the design bothers me a little - it looks as if it might be a bit sweaty for the chickens. Why not make your own coup with a wired, fox-proof run which can be moved around the garden as they scrape the lawn. You can buy them from specialist suppliers or from certain garden centres if you need to get design ideas or indeed if you want to buy one off-the-shelf rather than making one. Square foot gardening (www.organicgarden.org.uk. ) is a great way of getting the highest productivity out of a small space. Incidentally, I've just been rummaging around in the builders yard which was once my garden and I've found six black cabbage plants which look very handsome and have survived neglect and the slings and arrows of building work. So they might be a good all-year plant to have as well as various dwarf stock fruit trees and year-round salads like Land Cress.

Hi Jane, Not really a question but just wondered if you were aware of and could promote/spark debate/support this cultural clash of allotments v. 2012 Olympics. An historic allotment site in London; Manor Gardens, is under threat from the development of the Olympic Park. There is a petition people can sign but I feel really strongly about it! Apologies if you have already highlighted this on your (excellent) blog but I can't seem to access it at the moment! Marion Mako, Garden Historian, Bristol

My Times blog, along with quite a few others, bit the dust last month, I'm sad to say. I am aware of this campaign and I'm right behind it. It's bad enough that we're all supposed to celebrate spending horrifying amounts of taxpayers money on this sports fest in the name of regeneration (regeneration of various developers' bank balances as far as I can see) but to have a traditional, democratic form of exercise and fresh air removed from a population which embraces all ages and plenty of races seems to me to be the last straw. I wish they'd stop the whole thing.

My camelia in a pot in the coservatory has sticky leaves and is developing black spots!! Mavis Yates, Redditch

Sounds like whitefly which excrete honeydew which in turn covers the leaves and develops sooty mould. Clean the leaves with very lightly soapy water and a sponge and put up insect papers OR bring in the whitefly predator first making sure that the conservatory is warm enough for it to be effective. If not wipe the leaves with pyrethrum, fatty acid or vegetable oils or with bifenthrin or imidacloprid insecticide. The 'green' solutions mentioned here are available through www.nemasysinfo.com www.harrodhorticultural.com , www.Organiccatalog.com , www.defenders.co.uk , www.greengardener.co.uk and www.agralan.co.uk

Can you tell me if I can use tanalised timber to construct some raised vegetable beds? I have read conflicting information that there's arsenic in them. If can't use tanalised timber what is the best cost effective alternative? John Eaves, Sedgley

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