I planted garlic cloves on Oct 18, and now, 3 weeks later, I can see 5cm shoots above the ground. Is this normal? I had somehow thought the cloves were meant to lie dormant over the winter.
My back garden willow (which I aggressively pruned in the Spring) is massively infested with black aphids, and in the last couple of weeks, their honeydew has been attracting wasps. The wasps make it difficult to be in the garden, plus, I need to prune the willow, but risk being stung. Is there anyway I can get rid of the aphids, and thereby also get rid of the wasps? I'm attaching a pic of the aphids in case I have the wrong bug.
I have a willow in the back garden not sure what variety, but I my best guess is Goat Willow. I understand these can be aggressively pruned, but if I prune it right now, will it stay bare for the whole summer? It seems top-heavy, but I don't want an empty trunk until next year. I have attached a pic and am thinking of pruning it where I have added the red line, to remove all of the messy clumps of new sprigs from previous years. What do you think?