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

Last year our small greenhouse suffered from plague and disease of Biblical proportions. Last month we disinfected it and removed various dead plants and vegetables. How can we keep it pest and disease free this year? Last year we used sprays and dusts as per the instructions but none of them seemed to be able to stop moulds, whitefly, greenfly and some dying off that we failed to diagnose. Mark Cole, Hammersmith

Make sure that all seed trays, tools and pots etc have been scrubbed and disinfected. Use only sterile compost (I’d even avoid using your own compost in the greenhouse until you have the pest and disease under control). Keep the place well swept and tidy – it’s a bore but its worth it – and add sticky yellow paper traps (take them down if you use predator controls). Above all keep the place very well ventilated. Bad ventilation is one of the most common causes of greenhouse problems.

We want to make an all-blue conservatory. What plants can you suggest, please? Hailey Thomas, Edmonton

Try these: morning glory (easy from seed), plumbago, certain germaniums if you’re able to accept a sort of purple as blue (Pelargonium ‘Copthorne’ for instance which has scented leaves), certain passionflowers and Tibouchina which is a wonderful plant – reddish stems and early foliage and then deep, velvet-y purple-blue flowers. If, like me, you find all blue flowers attractive you might like to have a look at ‘A Book of Blue Flowers’ by Robert Geneve (Timber Press).

I used your tip about storing tools on the wall beside the back door but we need a whole load more storage ideas for the mower, fleece, garden sacks, seed trays, compost sacks and watering cans. Our landlord won’t let us have a shed and we have no room outdoors. At the moment everything is neatly stacked under the kitchen window but it doesn’t look good. Sharon Mills, Chigwell

I don’t suppose it’s doing the mower much good either. Why not get a garden storage box? Most garden centres sell them. If not, get one online. They are made from plastic and they can be locked. Better ask you landlord if he or she will allow a storage box before you buy one.

The variegated abutilon just outside our front door (which faces south) has brown tinges to its leaves. It is about three years old and we have never had problems in the past. What should we do? S. King, Petersham

It was probably caught by the frosty spell a few weeks ago. Nothing to worry about – the plant should be fine without you doing anything.

Will blueberries really grow OK in this country? I see them in the catalogues, but… Steve Baker, Cirecester

They need lots of sun and shelter and a slightly acid soil and then they will do fine. Plant two or more varieties to get the best crops, keep the plants well watered (you should be ok in Gloucestershire) and start pruning in three years during the winter. Take out any dead or diseased stems plus the oldest stems down to their bases.

Frogs have invaded a group of lily pots I’ve been overwintering at the end of the garden even though there’s no pond here. I don’t want to scare away the frogs but I do need to start moving the pots around. Sheila Withy, Stratford

Can you create an alternative damp, sheltered place by making a pile of logs with plenty of gaps for instance? Also how about adding a small pond at that end of the garden? It needn’t be big - I once sunk an old sink (the metal kind not the posh china type) into a flowerbed to keep the frogs happy. They put in so much spawn there was hardly any room for the aerating weed I’d added to keep the water in good nick.

A couple of weeks ago our Camellia dropped most of its buds. We bought it last year and we planted into an acid area of our garden. It is in dappled light on our patio and until the buds fell the plant looked healthy. Jamie Talbot, Ipswich

This is known (very helpfully) as ‘bud drop’. It is usually caused by drought, and it needn’t be for long. Also, the drought that caused this could have occurred as long ago as last autumn. Your plant should be fine. The way to avoid the same thing happening next year is to make absolutely certain the camellia never dries out, even for a day.

I would like to grow a Kiwi for the fruit but I know I have been told I have to have a male and female. Our garden is about 30ft by 40ft and it is already packed although it faces south. Are there dwarf varieties? Jo Jones, London

The self fertile variety, ‘Issai’, is probably the best bet.

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

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