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First butterflies of the year

By Richard Jones on 22/04/2009 10:03:56

, three came along at once.A green-veined white, Pieris napi, was the first to appear, fluttering down to examine the mock orange flowers. This is probably the most widespread of the ‘cabbage’ whites, since it occurs commonly throughout the British Isles


Bluebells

By James Alexander-Sinclair on 26/04/2011 10:53:07

carpeted with the things and the air filled with the faint scent of their flowers. That, combined with low rising sunbeams and the lettuce-coloured young leaves, is one of the most spectacular sights you could ever wish to witness.I have been unable


Sunflowers and hoverflies

By Kate Bradbury on 29/07/2011 15:13:53

For me, the competition to grow a giant sunflower is over. My six sunflowers are either in flower or just about to bloom, which means they're not going to grow any taller. They look good, particularly the two that are providing support for the rogue


Wasps and spiders

By Richard Jones on 28/09/2011 16:54:08

It’s life and death out there on the ivy at the moment. The far corner of our garden is a sheltered sun-trap, and the fence is now smothered in ivy flowers. The air is thick with the heavy scent of the blossoms, and the lazy buzzing of insects


Growing spring bulbs

By Adam Pasco on 16/03/2009 14:24:55

I love daffodils. To get the best from these wonderful flowers, I plant up a dozen plastic aquatic baskets with spring bulbs in autumn, choosing varieties that flower at different times. When spring arrives, I pop one basket after another


My five favourite dahlias

By James Alexander-Sinclair on 13/09/2010 12:13:20

I love early September: the sun is still hot but the nights are not stifling. The majority of plants have flowered and faded away but there are still some, particularly the dahlias, that are flowering their little heads off. There was a time when


In the pink

By Adam Pasco on 01/08/2007 10:58:02

My usually 'true blue' hydrangeas have been a disappointment this summer. Yes they have flowered superbly, but not in the colour I wanted! The colour coordinated borders have always enjoyed a wonderful blue contribution from these well established


Seeing double

By Adam Pasco on 23/07/2007 10:58:02

Sometimes plants do the strangest things, and some of these could make you a small fortune. One of the first dahlia blooms to open in my garden has put on more of a show than expected by producing a flower head with two faces! It looks as if two


Growing kale

By Jane Moore on 22/05/2009 13:45:31

There are always a few jobs that I hate doing at this time of year. One of them is pulling out the overwintered plants that have flowered and set seed. It seems such a shame to remove these plants when they're only doing what nature intended.But I


Watering vegetables

By Jane Moore on 19/06/2009 16:52:54

plenty of young leaves, the courgettes are doubling in size and the potatoes are coming into flower. When potatoes are in flower they need a lot of water, as this is when they're growing tubers. All newly planted crops need regular watering in dry spells


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