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A stylish raised bed is easy to build and can transform a dull corner of your garden into an attractive feature. Taking just a couple of weekends to complete this project, you'll soon be enjoying the benefits of gardening, without backpain too

round30 minutesCut a piece of tape that's long enough to fit around your pot then, using the pinking shears, cut a decorative edging along one side.Carefully stick the tape just below the rim of the pot. Remove a little bit of the backing at a time

, but the health of the tree won't suffer.An outbreak of shiny black blotches, edged in a ring of yellow, disfigure acer leaves in early summer. This can lead them to fall prematurely.Rake up and dispose of all fallen infected leaves. As a preventative measure use

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

on foliage.Yellow to white mottling of upper surface of leaves. Whole leaf may become puckered and turn brown at the edges.Cover a piece of stiff card with grease or contact adhesive and hold it above the infected plants while lightly brushing the foliage

or disease attackKeep fruit bushes covered with netting, then weave a cane through the bottom edge and peg it down to stop birds crawling underneathMake the final pickings of rhubarb and cut any flower spikes that form right down to their baseLift early

.Plan your seed-sowing year Trim lawn edges to keep the area neat and tidy Apply residual path weedkillers Around the gardenPlant lilies in large patio pots for summer displaysPrune shrub roses to low new shootsCut overgrown honeysuckle stems close

- and nothing could be fresher.Cut out any plain green shoots on variegated shrubs and treesTreat moss and weeds in lawns with weed killerHoe bare areas of soil to prevent weedsAround the gardenPlant gladioli in groups to depth of 10-15cmComplete outside sowings

Shape box topiary Clipped box topiary adds style, elegance and fun to the garden. It can be grown as individual trained geometric shapes and standard specimens in borders or large pots, as well as dwarf hedges or edgings. To keep topiary in shape

with more of your favourite plants for free.Add lawn cuttings to the compost heapMow and edge your lawnTie stems of tall perennials to supportsAround the gardenKeep baskets and patio pots wateredSpray roses to protect them from pests and diseases