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with such jewels of summer.These unseasonal blooms were likely grown in far flung places such as Africa or South America and flown over to the UK. Those with fewer 'flower miles' will have been raised in giant heated greenhouses closer to home. Cut flowers are big

times their own depth - to get them flowering again. It's also important to remove faded blooms to avoid the plants wasting energy on seed production, then wait at least six weeks before cutting back the foliage, as the leaves convert the sun's energy

rainforest, are for sale in our supermarkets.Of course, many of them end up in good homes. But as they're so often given as gifts in place of cut flowers, do they too end up on the compost heap after they've bloomed?A friend of mine was once a florist, and I

root cuttings from my mum's garden. Some didn't flower, so I'm hoping they will this year. I'm also looking forward to single plants growing into clumps, as they become established and make my garden their own.And what went wrong? I grew far too many

magnet for bumblebees.There are a few green manures to sow now, suitable for a range of soil types:1. Grazing rye (Secale cereale) improves soil structure. Sow from August to November and dig in the following spring.2. Winter field bean (Vicia faba

as not to increase petrol consumption, and the less mud the better I suppose, if you love your car.Seriously though, there are many ways to reduce your carbon footprint, and driving around with a load of flowers on your roof probably wouldn't cut it. Planting trees

in the rain, so I get to see them, eat my lunch in the morning to avoid time-wasting lunch queues. There's no point in dressing up and trying to look pretty, it only ends in tears by about 11.30am. Sensible shoes and a sturdy rucksack are the only way to go

the ground. (I love dandelion leaves. There're so crunchy and refreshing after a winter of meagre salads. The trick is to pick them before they flower, after which they can taste bitter.) Then the nettles and wild garlic appear (which together make a

, bumblebees prefer to nest in messy gardens (although they will feed anywhere with suitable flowers), so I want to give nest-searching queens the illusion that I don't garden at all. The grass will grow long, the borders will rot into themselves

of long grass around the edges of the lawn (which has no straight lines or clipped edges). I’m also far too soft with my frogs. When I cut down my tomato haulms the other week, I found five frogs snuggled together in the grow bag. I couldn’t bear to turf