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most of them a second thought. Well, that's why I planted them in the first place – to be reliable performers that look after themselves.The problem with leaving perennials alone is that the central parts of plants grow less productive over time

shoot. Always cut just above a healthy, full-sized leaf. That's where the hormones concentrate, so the plant is able to produce a new flowering shoot quickly.Deadhead regularlyMulch roses in spring and autumn, with well-rotted compost or manure. Feed

.Aeoniums are wonderfully generous succulents, as they can be propagated so readily from their rosettes by cutting them from a parent plant and pushing into pots of gritty compost to root. Many succulents are hardier than often recognised, though you need some nerve to risk

because I planted the bulbs in large pots using a peat-free compost that has remained too moist. Extra sand or grit should have been added to sharpen up the drainage, then the bulbs would have grown better I'm sure. Some have grown, producing tall flat

to write. A brief history of modernist design? An investigation of the idiosyncrasies of the Linnean system? A illustrated discussion of the baroque? The propagation of rare orchids? Advanced composting techniques?Instead, I've decided to ramble about one

There are days nominated to celebrate apples, festivals for tomatoes and chillies, and whole weeks to inform us about bird nesting boxes, trees, allotments and composting ... and this week it's the turn of the conifer.The Association of British

Last summer I discovered a twining, tender climber called Lophospermum, or lofos. I bought two varieties, 'Burgundy Falls' and 'Summer Cream' (both pictured left), as plug plants from a mail-order seed company. I grew my lofos under cover, in 7

In last week's Observer Magazine, Dan Pearson wrote about collecting berries from hedgerows near him, so he could grow plants with local provenance. This is a subject I've been thinking about a lot recently, so I read on with interest.Put simply, a

year when I got really obsessed trying to grow the very best sweet peas – just like the show growers. To produce flowers with really long straight stems you need to grow plants as single stemmed cordons. Each plant is only allowed to produce one shoot

and miscanthus.Planting partnersGrow smaller varieties in patio pots and plant medium and tall varieties among herbaceous perennials in mixed borders. Improve the soil before planting, with home-made compost or well-rotted manure. Grow them in full sun