Lace bugs on pieris japonica

After admiring my mother's pieris japonica shrub, I was kindly donated one which appeared to be suffering from an unidentified pest.
I know several of the shrubs from a neighbouring garden had to be removed with a similar problem. The leaves turn black and blotchy underneath and eventually the whole plant is affected.
Trawling the internet, I found a number of sites saying this type of pieris is susceptible to andromeda lace bugs.
The bugs aren't visible to the naked eye so I took a close up picture of some dead bugs on my shrub and magnified it in Photoshop (left). It more or less confirmed my suspicions.
I found a really useful piece on the Conneticut University website about the bugs which explains aggravating causes and treatment.
I am, however, wondering whether to look a gift horse in the mouth on this occasion and turn down the free plant for my garden in case the bugs could spread to other things.

Controlling bamboo

Today is the first dry day in a while and my only day off work this week so I'm grabbing the opportunity to cut back the bamboo which is taking over the corner of my garden and next door's hedge.
When we arrived a few months ago, it provided a useful screen for the compost heap and gave us a good supply of canes to use around the garden but it is so vigorous, I have not spent enough time trying to contain it and now our neighbour's hedge is starting to suffer.
I read a guide to controlling bamboo which recommends cutting into the soil with a straight bladed shovel, therefore severing the sprawling shoots to stop it from spreading.
Using this method, it says, this year's shoots should die off but previous year's growth could survive so the roots should be dug out.
In my case, I doubt digging around the plant would be successful because the shoots are large and too close to the hedge. The best plan, I think, is to chop it down, dig it out and put something else in its place.
I thought the cutting down part would be a simple task, but I'm taking time out to write this because I am less than half way through and already aching.
I'm dreading digging up the roots. Perhaps that's a job for another day.
Some of the foliage is over 10ft high so I should have a fair number of canes to store in the shed ready for the spring.
Anyway... tea break over... back to the garden.

BBC Sussex: Gardening phone-in

You can listen to today's Dig It gardening phone-in programme on i-Player. Host Joe Talbot fields questions for Steve Bradley and tree expert Geoff Peach, who explains to one caller why her 12-year-old magnolia has never flowered.

Autumn colour

The autumn leaves are putting on a spectacular show this year. Too bad that some visitor gardens are due to close for the winter this weekend.
In the valley beyond our hedge I can see cherry, tupelo and acer, among others, turning seemingly unnatural shades of purple, red, orange and yellow. There are many other colourful trees, although I don't know all their proper names.
Even my favourite, the swamp cypress, which I had wrongly assumed to be evergreen, is now turning brown. Upon further investigation, I have learned that it is one of only a few deciduous conifers found growing in Britain. It's good to know but I'm not sure how that information is ever going to be useful to me unless it comes up in a quiz.
Meanwhile, just so I don't spend my whole time gazing up at the trees, the cyclamen are out too, providing a colourful carpet in the woodland gardens. This noticable change in the seasons has got me thinking about what I need to be doing in my own plot before winter sets in.

Fruit trees: Pleaching to the converted

Until a few weeks ago I had dispelled the idea of growing fruit in my garden.
Soft fruit would get picked off by birds and mice and there simply isn't enough room for an apple or pear tree... or is there?
On a recent visit to the Kent Life Museum near Maidstone I noticed their farmhouse garden had a low step-over hedge of dwarf apple trees, which set me thinking about my own garden.
I had already learned about pleaching and espalier from my in-house experts and wondered if dwarf trees could be trained between the posts that support a railway sleeper retaining wall.
I consulted my wiser and green-fingered other half and, to my delight, he agreed it would be a fine idea.
An early visit to a nursery taught me that there are grades of root stock which determine the size of the tree. The M27, I have learned, is not just the motorway running from Sussex to Hampshire, it is also the most dwarfing of apple rootstocks and grows to about 2 metres. It might also come as no surprise to learn that the M25, on the other hand, is very vigorous and produces a large tree.
As when driving, I think I'll avoid the M25 for now.

Harlequin ladybird invasion

Thankfully, my swarming ladybirds have almost gone and many who managed to sneak into the porch while the door was open have taken up residence in the corner above my back door.
I sent my photos to the UK Ladybird Survey who identified the bugs as the invasive harlequin species.
Helen Roy at the UK Ladybird Survey said: "We do not recommend killing any ladybirds and although this is partly because of the risk of native species being misidentified as harlequins, also any that are killed will unfortunately make very little difference to the population."
Ms Roy urged me to record the sightings and upload photos using the survey's online forms. Apparently the invasive species has been found as far north as Orkney but high numbers found in Battersea, Clapham and Chelsea suggest some could have arrived via Eurostar or with vegetables sold at Covent Garden.
According to the survey website, harlequins have been known to damage late summer ripening fruit, such as pears, and get among grape harvests, tainting the wine that is produced.

Ladybird land

Oh my goodness! Has anyone else got thousands of ladybirds in their garden?
I am starting to become concerned, especially after finding stories about swarming ladybirds from previous years. There certainly aren't as many as in the BBC report about Norfolk last year but the weather is warm so I guess the numbers could still increase.
I have emailed the UK Ladybird Survey to find out if they are interested in the goings on here.
I have also downloaded their ladybird identification sheet to see whether any of the bugs are the invasive harlequin variety but it's pretty difficult to tell.
I've just been out in the garden to take photos and try and have a closer look at which species are out there but after opening the door for just a few seconds, I now have dozens of them in the house.
They are also landing on me all the time and I ended up coming back inside because I was spending the whole time picking them off.
I just hope it doesn't get worse - it's making me itch!