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gardener needs, but as soon as those big, bold blooms open it's bound to rain and shatter the petals. In the blink of an eye it's all over and I've got to wait another year for them to flower again.My problem is that I love plants, and have to admit

Flowers are not the only attraction in winter gardens. Biennial honesty (Lunaria annua) is a good example of a plant that keeps delivering after its flowers have passed. Once the petals have fallen, enchanting disc-shaped seed-pods are formed

I've always had a soft spot for chrysanthemums, and it's during autumn that they really reward you with the flower you've been anticipating all year. I can't think of another hardy perennial for pots or borders that looks so bright and colourful

unstaked. All it takes is one downpour and strong wind when plants are coming into flower and the whole lot can be flattened.But this May has caught me out. Some of my plant supports are in place, but not all of them. In the past two-three weeks my

from pests that search out their desired food crop by smell.Many years ago I sowed these cheerful poached egg plants (Limnanthes douglasii) along the base of my path, under the fan-trained fruit trees. As flowers open through May, in partnership

flowers, thickets and wilderness?), but it's amazing how important the little things are. I see it time and time again, like the value of topping up the bird bath throughout the year, leaving apple windfalls for the blackbirds, or leaving the coriander

so far? Those brilliant bicoloured gold and mahogany rudbeckias from D.T. Brown look stunning, and would be a great companion for their dwarf Nasturtium 'King Theodore' with a similar coloured flower and dark foliage. And what about Suttons's vibrant

the surface of damp compost. Alternatively try land cress, a hardy salad variety similar in flavour to watercress. Or for edible flowers sow a few nasturtiums, a flower closely related to watercress and with a similar warming taste.Delve into the seed

I don’t like waste, so digging dandelions from the lawn last week got me thinking about the value of weeds. Dandelions are hardly the master of disguise, revealing their position in the lawn with brilliant yellow flowers. I used a long-bladed, old

, but the reward is instant - a neat, tidy display revealing the full beauty of the blooms without the distraction of dead flowers.Now I'm contemplating propagation, so need to delve down to try and find some healthy non-flowering shoots to use as cuttings