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sized bed of 'Charlotte', my favourite second early, which is a fabulous new potato that's perfect for summer barbecues and salad suppers. I'm also planting two main crop varieties, 'Cara' and 'Picasso', which should both store well.All the seed spuds

.Luckily many of my vegetable plants are still snugly tucked away in fleece-covered tunnels, and some of the tinier ones in a fine-mesh-covered raised bed. I've always thought these things were far more wind resistant than some claim, now I'm sure

savoury plant in the beds, it also grows very well in cracks in the old concrete path.Later, while I'm admiring the constant nectaring business, I see there are several species. The red-tailed, Bombus lapidarius, is there in numbers, as too is the white

and parsnips shot into glorious growth, triumphant at having survived the frosts and the cold. I left them to it, I was busy sowing seeds, getting the potatoes chitted and planted, and preparing the beds. Before I knew it, the leeks and a solitary parsnip were

when I pass, and thankfully don't need the regular doses that most summer bedding plants demand. Temporary displays like this are fun to create, and can be moved around at a moment's notice to ring the changes. There's nothing permanent here

to take matters into their own hands. We went out the other morning to discover both of them upended in the flower bed digging an enormous hole in an effort to chase down the offending mole. Sadly, though charming, they're not terribly good at either

they invade flower borders or veg beds, and for some they're a menace in lawns. But I don't have a lawn, just grass with dandelions growing in it, and a tiny clump of daisies too.Last year and the year before I hardly saw any dandelions. But this year I

-purpose for this particular job). On my arrival I was confronted with beds of stunning primulas, all at their peak.Colour is lacking at the end of February as we wait for the early bulbs to bloom. A few brave grape hyacinths are showing colour, and daffodils surge higher

diversion from the point of this blog, happens very seldom. Often it rains earlier and later but only on a few days every year are we forced to stay in bed. Meteorology, eh?Anyway, my point is that part of our route goes through the nearby woods. Most

featured raised beds planted with nectar plants and companion planting schemes. 'An audience with Mathew Wilson' warmed up the crowd before Jekka McVicar presented a lecture on growing and eating native plants. I wish I could have stayed for the rest