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.Every year at Gardeners’ World Live I see the ladybird poppy (Papaver commutatum), and wish I had it. I never see it at any flower shows or public gardens, or even growing in people’s own gardens – but there it is, without fail flowering its socks off

with a large flower and a subtle honey scent, but there were many different types, including double-flowered 'Lady Beatrix Stanley' and snowflakes, which aren't snowdrops at all but belong to the same family.There was plenty more to see besides snowdrops

're usually grown in the UK as annuals, chilli plants (native to South and Central America) are perennial, so overwintering them shouldn't be a problem, if you live somewhere nice and hot. The theory is that if they survive winter, the plants flower and fruit

the crop. This is because they need a long season to flower and produce fruit, so if you sow them late, by the time they flower the season has started to change and it's just not warm or light enough for them to do well. They also need a good summer - low

marigolds, cosmos and agastache.Planted in one of the tree pits was some monarda, (commonly known as bee balm or bergamot). My partner hadn't seen these flowers before and the name was on the tip of my tongue. I smelled them to jog my memory and, instead

range of plants than you would normally find at Malvern. Lots of summer-flowering plants were on show, and there was a rather spectacular display of flowering cacti. What will be in flower for Chelsea I wonder?

flower beds, traffic islands and even motorway service stations. Some came to Hackney and planted up concrete troughs around the corner from where I live.In spring, the tulips will provide a dash of unexpected colour, as a cheerful surprise to passers

Dog violets, Viola riviniana, appeared almost as soon as I laid the topsoil of my new garden. They’ve been here for three years now, slowly bulking up in corners where nothing else grows.They thrive in the shadiest parts of my garden, flowering just

elsewhere. Growing nectar-rich plants is a good way to entice them in, but they won't nest in your flower beds. Butterflies lay eggs in long grass, nettles and thistles (depending on the species), while bumblebees prefer undisturbed messy areas

will generally follow suit. A bee-friendly garden should have a mix of nectar and pollen-rich flowers from March to November and somewhere to nest. There are six or seven (of 24) species of bumblebee that are likely to visit our gardens, each with different