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. This is the second volume - I am hoping to get the first for Christmas (hint, hint). A series of essays on a whole raft of fascinating subjects ranging from worms and guano to the Chelsea Flower Show and garden machinery (via plant hunters in China and Sir Walter

in the kettle after making my first brew of the day to melt them. The bracing cold also helps to wake me up! (Note to self: add thermal pyjamas to my Christmas list).6. Complete seed order before ChristmasMy neat pile of 2013 seed catalogues is sitting next

.AdamAfter planting, keep the hyacinth bulbs moist during the growing season and they should reward you with flowers over a long period of time.When buying bulbs to plant outdoors, avoid those that have been specially treated to flower indoors at Christmas.More bulb

.Your frame can take any shape, and you can even experiment with a three-dimensional design, using two or more coat hangers.More creative projects for your home and gardenChristmas wreathLavender bath bagGlass jar lanternsBrowse a selection of ivy plantsView a

completely. More decorative project ideasCone hanging basket for plantsMetal obelisk for climbing plantsTin can lanterns for the gardenChristmas wreathGlass jar garden lanternsBrowse a variety of lavender plants View plants suited to full sun exposure

for plantsMake a metal obelisk for climbing plantsCreate a Christmas wreathMake glass jar garden lanterns

to make sure they are unblemished and firm, and don't have any signs of fungus around the neck.It can help to plant tulips in November, rather than early autumn. By planting closer to Christmas soils are colder, so the fungus is less likely to spread

just as strongly as us! This year rust hit so early that although there are a few respectably sized bulbs, most are half their usual size. I'll be buying it by Christmas.Then the chives, overnight the foliage flopped, turned bright yellow

at Christmas when relatives out-stay their welcome. But as a gardener my shed is entirely functional... no stove, no bookshelf, no biscuits, just the tools of the trade.One of the previous owners of my house was an Italian family, and Gino, the father

. Some emerged along the drive at Christmas, and from the responses to my daffodil blog it seems lots of other people had super-early (if somewhat confused) daffodils.My May daffs are in what we grandly call the 'picking plot', which is a slightly unkempt