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It's performance that matters when it comes to bedding, and top of my list for the past few years have been New Guinea Impatiens. In dry summers of the past the top spot might have been taken by pelargoniums, trailing Surfinia petunias, verbena

A bed of dwarf bedding dahlias I grew from seed three years ago has grown back and bloomed again better than ever this summer. Talk about great value! The more dahlias I grow from seed the more I appreciate them. The original seed variety was Mignon

manures, sown onto beds and borders and forming a green carpet that can be dug directly into the soil, improving its organic content. Where areas aren't required for crops or bedding for a couple of months I put the area to good use by sowing green manures

In the past, either greed or wishful thinking has tempted me to cram far too many sweetcorn plants into my vegetable beds, resulting in very disappointing yields. This year I was determined to supply my family with a decent crop of sweetcorn, which

-stop, producing these beautiful floral discs continually - new ones opening as quickly as faded ones are snipped away.Like most tender perennial summer bedding plants these osteospermums have three requirements. First they need regular water, and soon tell you

A wide variety of pots have graced my patio all summer, hosting a wide and varied range of plants from agapanthus and phormium to miscanthus, eucomis, pelargoniums, and an assortment of colourful bedding - to name but a few.I love growing things

in height its spreading branches cast quite a shadow over the bed below. Being a deciduous tree its full canopy doesn't really develop until later in May, so many early flowering plants have time to bloom before the shade takes over.My star performer over

the pots of bedding.I've a second pot-grown acer as a companion, this time a finely split-leafed Japanese maple with a lovely green leaf. Both plants can suffer from leaf scorch during bright midday sun.So, for tiny gardens think tiny trees in pots

'm choosing mine. Of course, I'm keen to make them welcome, and a dense bed of mixed salad leaves provides the perfect summer residence.I know the word 'organic' is batted around a lot nowadays, but possibly not always fully understood. Organic gardening isn