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that came so naturally to him. I can't bear forced or calculated attempts at wit, but his spontaneous humour always bought a smile to my face - and to the faces of millions of listeners.His forcefully expressed dislike of certain plants - mostly veg

This week at the Chelsea Flower Show there are thousands of gardeners admiring out of season daffodil blooms in the show gardens and floral exhibits.In order to get their daffodils blooming at this time of year, growers force the bulbs to grow using

the chitting seed potatoes, seed trays, pots and propagators. It also forces me to throw things away. So, out go the weird, wonderful and unused gadgets. Out go the seed packets that I've kept for years on the assumption that I might one day sow the contents

because the birds don’t expect the strawberries to be there, or maybe there are plenty of other fruits to get their beaks around.The same can’t be said of the molluscs, which are out in force, enjoying the unusually mild and moist conditions. The slugs

the snow in their stride - by running and flapping their wings at the same time they can travel at nearly the same speed as usual.The wild birds are out in force. Like many others at this time of year, I’m spending an inordinate amount of time feeding

There currently appears to be the largest quantity of ladybird pupae I've ever seen in my garden. I'm not sure whether they are pupae of the standard UK ladybirds or the notorious harlequin, but they are here in force. Just the other day a friend