Have fun with your family with our festive Quiz

IT'S nearly Christmas!! And if you’re lucky enough to have a few days off work - I’ve got the perfect quiz for you to test your loved ones.

Don’t worry - it's not university challenge level, but more a chance to sit back, relax, and have fun with your friends and family.

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So here’s twenty gardening trivia questions guaranteed to get your brain in gear before the inevitable sleepy slump over the festive season. Good Luck!! (Answers below)

1. What plant only grows in a 75 mile radius around Wilmington, on the North/South Carolina coast, USA?

2. What is the biggest type of plant on the planet - which can grow up to  77 miles across? 

3. What plants are the symbol of Wales and Scotland, Ireland and England? 

4. What does Thyme symbolise - Courage, Love, Independence, or Purity?

5. What season should you plant daffodils? 

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6. Which Gardening Presenter owns Longmeadow? 

7. How many centimetres does a giant waterlilly grow each day? 4cm, 14cm, or 40 cm? 

8. What’s the lowest temperature a ‘hardy’ plant can survive in? 

9. How many cultivated varieties of daffodils are there? 260, 2,600 or 26,000? 

10. How much did the most expensive snowdrop ever change hands for in the UK? £185, £1,850 or £18,500? 

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11. Who designed the first ever Blue Peter Garden? 

12. How many people have taken up Gardening since the pandemic in the UK? 7000, 70,000 or 7,000,000? 

13. How long do clubroot spores persist in the soil? 5, 10 or 15 years? 

14. Where will the RHS have their first ever Urban Show this year?

15. How high is the tallest Sequoia (Redwood)  in California? 180ft, 280ft or 380ft? 

16. The fibrous root system of Rye Grass ‘Seacole Cereale’ broke records with its root system. Was it 287 miles, 387 miles or 487 miles long? 

17. What healing plant can be used to retain skin moisture, prevent ulcers, improve wound healing, and treat burns? 

18. How many years has BBC Gardeners World been going on for? 35, 45 or 55 years? 

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19. What was the name of the man-eating plant in Little Shop of Horrors? Audrey, Annabelle or Alice?

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20. According to the Guinness Book of Records - how much can certain types of Bamboo grow in a day? 1.9ft, 2.9ft or 3.9ft? 

TREE-USE, TREE-DUCE, TREE-CYCLE

Expert Eric Michels from CJ Wildlife has shared the top five ways you can re-use your Christmas tree to help both your garden and its inhabitants thrive.

• Create wildlife shelters - cut the trunk into logs to stack into a pile, and bundle together smaller twigs and branches - creating a refuge for bugs like beetles and other garden wildlife including frogs and toads.

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• Build a stumpery by burying upright logs in the soil - to provide food and shelter for wood-boring beetles, woodlice, and solitary bees.
• Position your logs and branches in partial shade, where the wood will remain moist to encourage fungi and lichen growth. 
• Make your own bird feeder by drilling a few holes into a section of trunk and pack with suet and bird feed mix. 

• Build a dead hedge to create not only a boundary but the perfect habitat for insects and hedgehogs. Weave your branches between vertical posts, adding leaves and fallen plant matter to create your wildlife-friendly hedge. 

THIS WEEK'S JOB

Boxing Day is the traditional time to sow onion seeds.

Start them somewhere warm - sow 3-4 seeds per module, harden off in Spring then plant 5-10cm apart in well drained sunny soil . 

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SAVE!

Get your last bulbs in the ground with this  £4.50 Magnusson Trowel from B&Q

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or dig a little deeper with this Fluorescent handled one from Squires Garden Centre for  £15.99

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WIN!

Our super friends at Stiga are giving one lucky reader a cordless MT 100e Kit.

This £199 battery-powered multi tool takes the effort out of pruning and cutting and makes ladders a thing of the past! 

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Go to www.thesun.co.uk/WinStigaMultitool, or fill in this form or write to Sun Stiga Competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP.

Include your name, age, email or phone. T&Cs apply. Ends 6/1/2024 18+, UK only.

LEARN!

We’ve laid new turf - what can I do to take care of it over Winter?

Ms Fran Thompson, Richmond, Surrey

With this current wet weather you shouldn’t need to water it again for a while.

Don’t water frozen grass, it will kill it - but don’t let it dry out.

Avoid walking on it for 5-6 weeks.

Once it’s rooted (check by tugging to see if it comes up) it should lay dormant, so you wont need to mow or feed until there’s proper growth, although some experts recommend using a Winter feed once it’s established.

Sweep up fallen leaves and debris as it will trap moisture and encourage worm activity and disease.

If a heavy frost lifts it, use a roller to get it back down.

Best of luck!