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Take cuttings from tender perennials and bedding plants, such as verbenaSow a few pots of hardy annuals to provide early spring blooms Shade delicate plants to avoid sun scorch on hot daysDeal with vine weevil by watering pots with a solution

around border plantsCut down annuals, add the material to the compost heap and fork over the bedsLay new lawns from turfStart to plant tulips in pots and bordersPile bark mulch over the crowns of hardy fuchsias to provide extra protection

have fuel in stockPot up roots of lily-of-the-valley to provide fragrant winter flowersSow hardy annuals, like calendulas, in pots for early flowers

This year we held our annual Gardeners' Question Time Garden Party at our GQT garden at Sparsholt College near Winchester, Hampshire.  This year it was a serious scorcher with baking sun and sometimes oppressive heat, but it certainly seemed

more (that's a topic for another day).So, what are the alternatives? There are quite a few annual climbers to choose from actually. Morning glory (ipomoea) is popular, but their flowers are all too short-lived. The purple bell vine (rhodochiton) is nice

and out before putting up bubble polythene for insulationSow hardy annuals, like calendulas, in pots for early displaysCheck bulbs, corms and tubers in store for signs of rotWater sparingly in winter, taking care not to splash water aroundPick yellowing

year.They've got so much to offer, and I'm always amazed by what my friends and neighbours can produce in their back gardens. Current shows will be showcasing the last of the daffodils and tulips with other spring-flowering bulbs, annuals, and some

surrounding gardens, fields and waste-ground.Clump of leaves growing from a single or multiple point. Leaves and flower stalks ooze a milky substance when snapped. Bright yellow-orange flowers are followed by a fluffy seedhead or dandelion 'clock

in from surrounding gardens, fields and waste ground.A bushy weed that bears small yellow flowers and fluffy seedheads. Its leaves often have orange-brown pustules of rust fungus in summer and autumn, which can spread to cultivated plants. Pull out young

of hardy annual flowers Lightly clip box edging and topiary to neaten them upFlowersPush twigs into the ground to support tall-growing peasFeed strawberries with a high potash feedSow flowering companions in your veg plotFruit & vegPlant tomatoes in large