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surround my beds with timber edges so the soil surface can be raised by the action of digging and adding organic matter. These raised beds drain more quickly after heavy rain and keep plant roots above the water-saturated ground below. Raised beds also warm

seed sowing. My sowing list includes greenhouse tomatoes, chillies and sweet peppers, plus a few half-hardy bedding varieties – all plants that benefit from early sowing and a long growing season.My plan for the week involves something of a spring clean

Last Sunday was International Tulip Guerrilla Gardening Planting Day. To mark the occasion, guerrilla gardeners (so called because they grow plants on public or private land without permission), planted tulips all over Europe in tree pits, neglected

enthusiasts entertained, from talks and demonstrations in the new Garden in Harmony Theatre, to 'biodiverse' show gardens and dedicated nature-friendly plant nurseries.It was my first trip to Malvern. First stop was the Garden in Harmony Theatre, which

hedgehog makes it into my garden at night, and they love to feed on slugs.However, gardeners who treasure their hostas (and other plants) know all too well just how much damage slugs and snails can do at night. I'm keen to garden without resorting

that work well in a formal planting scheme. The bed of French lavender at the front of the garden was abuzz with honeybees, while the early bumblebee, Bombus pratorum, gorged on cirsium at the rear. Other plants worthy of note included Centaurea montana

to cover fences, and are used to divide areas of the garden. I have a greenhouse where I can squeeze in about eight tomato plants, a couple of cucumbers, plus pots of aubergine, sweet peppers and chillies. And pots of strawberries too, as grown outside

girding of loins and a flourishing of hoes.Casting an eye over my borders recently, I noticed that some of my plants were badly in need of splitting. In particular need of attention was a fine grass called Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster', which

my car has a big boot and I can remove the rear row of seats to fit it pots of tomatoes and crops, summer bedding, compost, plant supports and much more.That's the joy of this show – bringing the pages of Gardeners' World magazine to life to both

What do you look for in a good garden centre? I would imagine most people would expect garden centres to offer a great range of plants along with a heavy dose of inspiration and expert advice.However, many garden centres have been transformed