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lily in a sunny spotPrune ornamental cherries while the weather is hot and dry to reduce the risk of silver leaf diseasePlant colchicums, nerines, sternbergia and autumn crocusesDeadhead geraniums and other bedding plants so they don't waste energy

to their baseFlowersGrow early-maturing potatoes in a bag of compostFork compost into beds to prepare soil for plantingChit potatoes Fruit & vegSow cucumbers, tomatoes, aubergines and peppersWater compost with a suitable pesticideSow summer bedding plants

Follow Monty's step-by-step video guide to laying an alpine garden path and making alpine beds using membrane and gravel.spring - autumnMore advice on growing alpinesWatch Monty Don make an alpine sandboxPlant alpines in a pot with Rachel de Thame

Top up fuel tank of paraffin heater every eveningBring potted hyacinths and bulbs under cover to bloomMake a sowing plan for raising greenhouse crops and bedding plants, and order seeds Bring potted peaches under cover to prevent an attack of leaf

Dig up congested clumps of winter aconites and transplant to new sitesImprove the soil the soil by spreading compost or manure over beds and forking inMove plants growing in the wrong placeDig deeply areas where you'll be planting new roses, shrubs

mould from fallen leavesPlant drifts of lily-of-the-valley in shaded bedsFinish planting tulip bulbs outsideImprove soil by incorporating compostDeadhead pansies to prevent them setting seed

to everyone.For me it's the single colours that appeal. Bedding plant producers tell me that at retail it's always packs of colour mixtures that sell best, but I always avoid these. OK, so I must be an exception, but thankfully the seed companies cater to my

Couch grass often grows in among cultivated plants. It's a clump-forming perennial that spreads through the soil via underground stems or stolons, and is easily spread by cultivation. It can creep from lawns to infest flower and vegetable beds

of tulipsSow hardy annual flowers directly into bedsFlowersSow sweetcorn in deep modular seed traysFeed fruit trees and bushesPlant out onion sets grown in pots under glassFruit & vegBuy plug plants and young bedding plantsThin out heavy fruit sets

container-grown roses and shrubsPrepare soil in flower beds for summer beddingTie in new growth on climbing plantsFlowersSow bean, marrow, courgette and squash seedsSpray peaches and nectarines with fungicide Pick rhubarb stems as they developFruit & veg