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and naturalise in borders, so any plants lost to frost should be replaced by their offspring.More features and advice on growing herbaceous perennialsLearn how to take verbena cuttingsGrow plants to attract beesChoose flowers for late-summer colour

Once apple trees are established it's best to summer prune the spur-fruiting varieties. This will encourage the development of short flowering shoots or 'spurs' that go on to bear clusters of fruit. Summer pruning is ideal for keeping the trees

You can easily propagate oriental poppies by taking root cuttings. They make perfect candidates for this propagation method as it exploits the plant's propensity to reproduce itself from every scrap of root left behind when plants are moved. Once

Nesting female bees cut out immediately obvious elliptical shapes from the edges of a leaf to make their cells for laying eggs. Since one female might need 20 or so cells, that's a lot of leaf cutting, particularly when the bee keeps returning

to supportsClip box hedging and topiary to keep it neatFlowersSow a few seeds of salad leaves every 2-3 weeksPlant out crops being raised in pots under glassCover soft fruits with netting to prevent birds eating themFruit & vegTake cuttings from pelargoniums

and topiaryCut laurel hedgesAround the gardenMake earwig traps with straw in upturned pots on canesPrune pyracantha and train shoots to supports Prepare soil to plant evergreen shrubsFlowersPrune old fruited stems of raspberries down to soil level Pinch out

Around the gardenTake cuttings from pansies and violasPot up tender perennials grown outside Prune rambling roses after floweringFlowersFinish summer pruning trained apple and pear treesHarvest apples, pears, plums and gages as they ripenSave seeds from varieties

and family.Collect leaves as they fall to make leaf-mould Leave out sunflower seed heads for the birds to feed onCollect up all watering kit to store in the shedAround the gardenTake cuttings of your favourite rosesTidy borders by cutting down perennials past

couple of days to set before being positioned in the garden. Spread a layer of manure or compost around shrubsPrepare areas for laying new lawns in springBe on the look out for slugs and snailsAround the gardenPrune summer-flowering clematisCut out dead

producing a single flower per stem once a year, moth orchids produce several stems, each boasting a dozen or more exotic flowers. Yes, I know you'll find these phalaenopsis orchids everywhere now, but they offer so much more value than a bunch of cut flowers