What the heck is this?

ps some people say that human urine deters other animals.
Have a word with your husband .

You could try sticking pointy sticks or twigs all around the plants. Cats are cunning.
We had a similar problem, but with deer eating the roses. I tried the pointy stick thing first, but that didn't work so had to resort to netting. In the end dug up the survivors and put them in pots near the house.
We've got pieris too - I agree, it's a beautiful shrub.

.....and what a lovely club it is to belong to Greyduster

My garden is quite small but still loads to do and I could never be bored. I bought myself a little "lean to" greenhouse in the sale last winter. It wasn't the best quality but I sanded it down and painted it a lovely cream colour. It looks fab and you would think it were twice the price so I am really chuffed. I have all my seeds in and "everything's coming up rosy".

One thing I wonder if anyone can help with is that I have a small raised bed that I use for my herbs and "cut and come again leaves" and next doors bloody cat keeps getting into it. I have had to put mesh over the top, which looks awful but seems to be effective. Is there anything else I could do to deter the damned thing? I have battery operated cat deterrents and glass bottles filled with water etc. but the horrible thing still digs and poops all over the garden.

Pier is are beautiful plants, the colour of the new leaves positively glows. They are also very amenable to being pruned, if they get too large.

Thank you for your welcome!

What makes it all even more wonderful is that our garden backs on to a small field, beyond which is a wood - we have large low windows everywhere and our eyes are constantly assailed by the amazing white blossom that has appeared along the side of the wood facing us - so we look at all that beyond the flowers in the garden - it it truly glorious.

I am going on holiday for 6 days with the family and a bit of me wants to stay here and enjoy the view!

Lucky I have been reading your posts since you moved house and it's so pleasing to read of the joy you are taking in your new garden! We waited years (following the drum) before we had anything we could call a garden and I remember how exciting it was to see things appearing that we didn't know we had, and we didn't know what half of them were. I learned more about plants in that first year than I'd ever known! You are now officially a gardening nut! Welcome to the club ?!

Lucky you have the right soil for all these things, I can only plant them in large pots( which are plonked in to the garden) in ericacious compost, which does limit their size unfortunately ( and they like rainwater to drink not tapwater) so anything like Pieris, hydrangea, rhods, and azealas all have to be potted versions.Your new garden sounds really lovely, don't forget to post pics.

nanasam - that is identical to mine - it is so pretty - I am thrilled with it. It is so exciting when all these lovely things just appear and I am loving having a garden to potter in - it gets me out in the fresh air and it has such wonderful results!

Mine looked very sad indeed in the ground, despite being planted in ericacious compost and having a mulch of same every year. Since plonking them in a pot and neglecting them they seem to have thrived! Although they haven't grown more than about 2 ft.

I hope this is not Famous Last Words.
I must remember to give them a drink of rainwater tomorrow.

It's also called Lily of the Valley tree or bush, due to the pretty drooping flower heads. I can't grow mine in our limey soil so it's been in a pot for the past 20 years! I haven't ever pruned it and it's still only 5ft high.

I think I totally neglect mine apart from the odd prune and they are beautiful?

Yes, sounds like a Pieris; I have two varieties, the new shoots are pink and one variety has white flowers on an arching stem, the other one doesn't flower.

Forest flame has darker pink or red shoots (the one that doesn't flower) and the flowering one has paler pink leaves then the leaves become paler green and white variegated.

I clip mine back (not a drastic prune) in the Autumn. In fact, mine are in pots because they didn't do very well in the garden as they like acidic soil I think so I dug them up and potted them and they seem to have survived!

Oh well done folks! That is definitely it! I have never seen such a thing before. It is lovely. Do I leave it to do its own thing or does it need feeding or pruning at some stage?

I was thinking of a Forest Flame (which i think is a Pieris although i am hopeless with proper names). My FF is kind of split and looks like two separate plants although it is all one. One side is quite pale almost pink and white and the other side is very red. Why is that I wonder?

I agree it sounds like a Pieris. Is it like these pics?
www.google.co.uk/search?q=pieris&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjnzsLr1Y3TAhXpBcAKHRE9CGEQiR4IrwE&biw=1338&bih=610#spf=1

Agree sue Pieris (sp?) or what we call a flame tree

Think that is Pieris! not sure if spelt it right ?