Garden Work

{TEXT}July 25th-31stThe elegant euphorbias - or spurges - are very useful garden plants, with their often-evergreen, disease and pest-resistant, architectural foliage and flowers. The unpronounceable, but glossy Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae, is wonderful for colonising dry, shady areas. Its lime-green inflorescences, which brighten the spring garden, are by now looking grubby and tired. These, and any other weary-looking euphorbias can be tidied up now by cutting out the flowering stalks. A word of caution about euphorbias: the milky sap that pours from the cut stems is highly irritant. Wear gloves and protect your eyes when cutting back these plants.