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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

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

'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

. 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

- David's were all eaten by slugs, while Tamsin's disappeared overnight (probably also eaten by slugs). Despite all the attention I lavished on mine, including extra watering and a weekly nettle feed, just two of the six made it above 2m (2.24m and 2.35m

, and - in extreme situations - lead to erosion. In the wild, plants quickly colonise exposed earth, protecting its structure and absorbing the nutrients that would otherwise be washed away. A green manure does the same thing; you just have control over what grows

I might move house this year. It’s very early days, but the possibility of having a bigger garden is sending my plant-collecting gene into overdrive. I currently grow plants in my small, shady courtyard garden. But after four years of this, I long

.We feed the plants with a little diluted comfrey solution during the growing season, and top-dress them with fresh compost (and gravel) in autumn. To prevent disease, we remove yellowing leaves as soon as we see them, and to promote further flowering we

I've been quite frustrated with my garden lately. I'm getting impatient waiting for plants to become established; there are too many gaps in the borders and the recent cold spell has prevented the quick germination of seeds I sowed on bare soil. All