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feeding on plants at night, and finding their caterpillars amongst the foliage. Just four years ago my garden was paved over, so finding moths here feels like real progress.Sadly, few gardeners welcome moths as warmly as they do butterflies

m tall, though. I'm still not sure how I'll stake an 8m tall plant.)I haven't done anything special with my sunflowers yet, I've only watered them. Now I'm upping my game: this weekend I'll be harvesting nettles to make a nitrogen-rich feed, which I

, and I'm looking forward to several more over the next few weeks.There are many ways to keep fruiting crops (beans, peas, tomatoes, chillies) productive. The obvious one is to keep feeding them. These plants need extra nutrients once they've finished

to wildlife is enormous, especially at this time of year. It provides year-round shelter for a wide range of wild creatures, and in autumn its flowers and berries feed wildlife far later than most garden plants.Last year I spoke to Richard Reynolds, author

I’m going to plant my bulbs earlier this year, to avoid disturbing any hibernating creatures in colder weather. I've just bought 20 winter aconites, 20 Nectaroscordum siculum, and the Gardeners’ World magazine offers: 100 free alliums and 160

. Different bees have different plant requirements, so it's best to grow the widest range of plants possible for them, over a long period. Some bumblebees - like the garden bumblebee, Bombus hortorum - have really long tongues, so feed from plants with long

'll be raising mine indoors in a peat-free sowing compost.After that, I don't really know. In the past I've just planted them out and given them a good water when they've needed it. I've never fed a sunflower (I don't feed flowers, as a rule). A record breaking

your plant regularly and feed once a week with diluted tomato fertiliser when flowers appear. This encourages the plants to keep flowering and produce more fruit.Find out whether your plant is a cordon or bush type. Cordons usually produce regular

feeding, nesting and hibernation preferences. Tongue lengths determine which flowers the bees can feed on, so grow flowers with long corollas like red clover, honeysuckle and foxgloves to attract long-tongued bumblebees like the commmon carder (Bombus

'll even fruit without a fortnightly high-potash feed (although more chillies will be produced if the plant is fed). I gave a plant to my cousin last year, expecting it to be dead within weeks. In September he sent me a photo of a chilli-laden plant, along