I completed planting my summer seasonal bedding displays over the weekend, including filling my containers and hanging out the baskets. But I was not too happy with the recent winds which caused a bit of damage to some of my taller border plants, including some of my alliums and foxgloves which are now growing at a 45-degree angle.

The most damage was suffered by my oriental poppies which were just bursting into bloom. They are quite a hardy plant and it grows well in coastal areas; however, it throws up large flowering stems that have a large bud and flower. In strong winds these stems can be laid flat.

I used a pair of sharp secateurs to cut away the completely damaged blooms and added these to the compost. For those blooms I could save, I installed some bamboo canes to create a support frame and tied the stems to the frame – not a perfect solution, but it gives me a border display I can still admire.

One plant which did survive was my Iris germanica (commonly known as the ‘Bearded Iris’ or ‘Common German Flag’) and as you can see from my photograph they are looking just marvellous. The only problem is that the blooms don’t last long so enjoy them when they are out! Although they may have a short flowering period, they are nonetheless evergreen plants and the leaves of the iris are sword-shaped and can look rather stately in the garden border.

Given the mild winter and warm spring there are a lot more snails and slugs about. For small infestations simply picking snails from the plant is the quickest way to deal with them. You will need to destroy them after collecting and don’t release them as snails seem to have homing instincts! They do make good food for the birds, who drop them from a height to crack open the shells. One reason I’m not keen on slug and snail pellets is they contain metaldehyde, an unpleasant enough chemical when it is digested by the slug or snail but more concerning, birds and other wildlife come along and eat these snails where the chemical can be still active. If you like using pellets as a control method, get the ones which contain iron sulphate as the main active ingredient – still effective on slugs and snails but more wildlife-friendly.

There are other methods which are said to be effective such as using copper bands as a barrier (which works by giving the snail or slug an electric shock as it crosses). Some gardeners also claim that by creating a barrier using natural materials such as sharp grit or crushed eggshells the snail or slug finds difficult crossing over. I’m not sure these barriers work as I have a pebbledash wall and I found a couple of snails working their way up to the bedroom window with ease – they were after my climbing rose leaves!

It’s an old tried-and-tested method, but you can’t go wrong with beer traps – they are a safe and simple way to catch snails and slugs and if they do escape at least you have a wobbly trail to follow!

Good garden hygiene will help keep the snail and slug population down – they like areas which are dark and damp such as under flagstones. Some time ago I needed to lift one to re-level it and was rather surprised to see what looked like hundreds of snails on the underside! When I re-laid it, I made sure that the base was solid and that the flagstone was sealed around the edges.