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Hidden from view by its terracotta overcoat for the past few months, it's impossible to know exactly how the rhubarb beneath is developing without peeping. Rhubarb forcing  jars are wonderful objects in their own right, and mine takes up residence

!Slugs are everywhere, although they hide away pretty well until my back is turned, then come out in force to feed. By sheltering during the day and emerging under cover of darkness, they escape my attention as well as that of many wildlife predators. The occasional

season has arrived.An established clump covered with a terracotta forcing jar has come good again, as it does every year without much attention at all. I know it's ready when the little terracotta lid is lifted high atop rhubarb leaves pushing through

in the past but always worry about catching and harming wildlife unintentionally, so this year I tried making do without.Well, I've learned the hard way. Until the birds in this country learn the real meaning of sharing I'll be forced to resort to netting next

displays, and fruit to enjoy later this year. It's essential to prune wisteria twice a year. Once in the summer, shortening long, wispy new shoots to about 20cm (8in), and again in winter, pruning the same shoots further to roughly 5-7.5cm (2-3in

the winners of the Garden Centre of the Year 2010 run by the Garden Centre Association (GCA).A different take on assessing garden centres is to look at their turnover, and Garden Retail magazine has done just that and published the Top 100 Garden Centres

excavations.For many years I boasted to friends that were complaining about squirrels that I didn't have any visitors, but they've now arrived in force. On one occasion I counted three on my lawn!My squirrels are as bold as they come. When I open the door

found a sheltered spot to hibernate, they risk being killed, too.This hard weather will certainly have been challenging for hungry birds searching for food, but hunger will have forced blackbirds and others to search ever more intently for food, so I

Should I feel guilty about heating my greenhouse? While I'm turning the heat down in my home to save energy, keep bills down, and reduce CO2 emissions, here I am considering heating my greenhouse to both protect plants through winter and provide

've had! I can't remember anything quite like this before. Can you?Let's put to one side the travel problems and disappointments of missed mail-order deliveries. We all have a story to tell, I'm sure.Forced to work from home last week when all the overhead