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should grow this tree (sorry if I'm sounding a bit bossy): its leaves are finely shaped (like a sort of muscular maple leaf); its bark is pale and slightly corky; it produces rather charming fruits called gumballs but, more than anything, its autumn

. Such was its striking colour that I stopped for a second look, but that was enough to draw attention to myself and it was gone. I'm well used to seeing brown rats in London parks; although it's still quite unnerving to be sitting having a picnic on the grass

and examine the gnarled and wrinkled bark at the very base of the trunk. Sure enough, sheltering in the crannies there, are several specimens of a very pretty weevil, Dorytomus ictor. No English name for this little (4.5mm) beetle, even though

of colour and life; in the majority of cases this is to be welcomed. Hooray for the resurgence of tulips, whoopee for the return of the rose and yippee for the arrival of annuals.However, there are some plants which I am not looking forward to seeing again

of blossom to choose from that it all gets a bit confusing. But my top five at the moment are: Prunus 'Taihaku' - its white flowers have centres the colour of jam stains Prunus cerasifera 'Nigra' - its purple leaves are interesting Prunus 'Cheal's Weeping

strong new shoots from the base. You may need to use long-handled loppers for more leverage if the wood is thick and tough.To rejuvenate old shrubs or coppice shrubs that are grown for the colour of their stems, hard prune all the stems down to 10cm - 15

work, so you'd be much better off planting black mulberries, with their big, blowsy leaves and bark the colour of cork. Morus nigra seems to live for a very long time - even after falling over - and many older gardens have ancient specimens. (There is a

isn't very old, it's not more than 20cm in diameter at the base, but the bark is rough and gnarled enough to provide the odd nook and cranny for overwintering ladybirds.Surprisingly, these are not the recent alien invader Harmonia axyridis

am neither territorial nor a micro-manager, so I really don't mind what they plant. We've agreed that the next step is to make a few labour-saving improvements. One half of our plot already has bark paths (good for beetles) which has really helped us