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in the Gardeners' World Awards 2010 has highlighted their popularity.The category for 'Best Plant for Bedding' was won by pansy and viola with a very respectable 20 per cent of the vote. They beat summer favourites like pelargonium with 17 per cent of votes

and preparing our beds for planting. This allotment business is not for the faint-hearted.I have a certain routine to preparing my beds for planting, which is dependent on my crop rotation plan. This way I know which beds to add organic matter to and which ones

this frustration got me thinking about bedding.I admit to not being a huge fan of annual bedding plants, but I can see their attraction. For the gardener, they provide instant results - quick-fix solutions to gaps in borders, a tired corner, a dreary patio

Any plant that's planted out in a bed, border or pot for a seasonal display, usually during spring and summer. The plants are then removed, making way for next season's display. Spring bedding is composed of spring-flowering bulbs, hardy perennials

, or a recent favourite, the fan flower (scaevola).But these large-flowered busy Lizzies kick many other summer bedding plants into second (or third) place. They're stunning! Find a spot they like, which is thankfully a shaded position that most other sun

It's easy to be sniffy about the ornamental cabbage. It is quite a strange concept; an odd, Frankensteinish amalgam of vegetable and bedding plant. However, my mind was changed - temporarily at least - during a recent trip to New York. I saw

At this time of year, gardeners and plot holders take advantage of any dry, sunny weather to improve the soil and get their beds ready for planting. My neighbours on the allotment have been doing just that - everywhere I look there are freshly

Last year I ripped out an old strawberry bed as the plants had gone past their best. As if by magic, I was sent several new strawberry varieties to trial. Of course, my son soon had his eye on the plants and suggested he grow them instead of me

, and is offered in a range of colours. New for 2010 is the pure white 'Double Click Snow Puff', which has been approved as a new novelty variety by Fleuroselect (a European variety trial organisation looking for the best new bedding plants). Many cosmos come

Who could ever produce enough compost for all their needs? I remember watching the late Geoff Hamilton at Barnsdale week after week on Gardeners' World, using countless buckets of beautiful home-made compost. Every planting hole was filled