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Walking back from the Horniman Museum last week took me past a large oaktree growing just inside a front garden. The tree looks like an old pollardand must pre-date the early 20th century houses hereabouts. What caught myattention were all

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

What a week we've had. It's been more like October than July and the poor old plot is looking a bit battered and bruised. I nipped there to take stock of any damage after the gale force winds last weekend, and found my brassica netting in a hedge

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

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

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

Our first barbecue of the season was Sunday 3 May, so much pottering about in the garden sunshine. It's all happening out there now. Last week there were 13 newts in the pond, we couldn't move for holly blues and then the swifts were back. It

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

Prune out old stems of elder (Sambucus)Cut back last year's buddleia stems to ground levelHard prune trees that respond to pollardingFlowersPlant onion sets in modular trays of compostRepair netting on fruit cagesContinue forcing sea kale and chicory

or spadeautumn1 hourUse a spade or lawn-edging tool to cut an H shape into the turf, pushing the blade vertically through the turf.Push the spade under the turf to cut through the grass roots, and start easing back a complete layer of turf. Do the same