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there to stop people walking on the grass but even the French are not that fierce).The most impressive thing was the standard of bedding. Rather than strict lines or groups the plants were arranged much more informally. Great swathes of orange dahlias, salvias

certainly went by the book. I'm so glad we planted them - there's no finer fruit than the raspberry.I do have one regret, though: we should have planted an asparagus bed. It would be cropping beautifully by now, with tasty spears thrusting out of the ground

-off diseaseSow summer bedding, such as tagetes and dahliasMove young plants into cold frames to acclimatise them to cooler conditions

old plants from beds and bordersWrap tender plants, such as olives and palms, to give them extra weather protection

Deadhead winter-flowering pansies and bedding plants, and pick off damaged leavesDivide congested herbaceous perennialsPrune winter jasmine to cut back flowered shootsTransplant shrubs growing in the wrong place while they're dormantPlant lily

Hand pollinate the flowers of peaches and nectarine, with a soft brushCut off hippeastrum flower heads, leaving the stalkSow summer-bedding plants in trays in a heated propagator or in the greenhousePlant dahlia tubers in trays to encourage shoots

Empty your greenhouse and thoroughly clean inside, pressure washing the frame, staging and glazingCut back overwintered fuchsias, and increase frequency of watering to encourage new growthSow summer bedding plantsMonitor temperatures with a max

and maincrop potatoesSow turnips for spring greens in March and AprilClear crops once they've finished and fork over bedsBlanch endive by covering with a bucket or large plate to cut out lightPlant new strawberry bedsCut down the ferny shoots of asparagus

varieties of broad beans and peas under clochesDig up and compost old summer cropsSource bags of composted green waste from local authorities to spread onto veg beds over winterPlant out autumn onion sets and garlicTake hardwood cuttings from fruit bushes

it this longs as the firmer the render gets, the stronger the structure will be. Once the paint is dry, fill the bed with topsoil, stamping it down as you go. Then it's time to get planting.AdamIt's well worth hiring a cement mixer for this job, particularly