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, while the same species in Cornwall will have adapted to salty air and a longer growing season. What's more, these important genetic differences can determine when the plants come into leaf, flower and fruit, so the same species imported from elsewhere

, but hates the shade of my current plot.A crab apple, in the hope that I can cultivate mistletoe on it.A large patch of nettles, for butterflies and ladybirds.Hawthorn, for its spring blossom, hedging potential and autumn berries. The fruits not only feed

, 'Becky', as it promised to yield large, orange fruits with a good flavour. It did. I let my partner get on with carving them for Halloween, while I set to making pumpkin curry, pumpkin soup, and roast pumpkin risotto. I do love a pumpkin curry

follow.The other feature my garden lacks is fruiting shrubs. I have an ornamental cherry tree donated by a neighbour, but I've yet to see if it produces fruit (it's single-flowered though, which is promising). There's a redcurrant and a native honeysuckle

is an obvious choice: native British trees don't just absorb CO2, but provide food and shelter for wildlife. Composting helps reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfill and journeys to take it there, and growing your own fruit and veg reduces food waste

'll even fruit without a fortnightly high-potash feed (although more chillies will be produced if the plant is fed). I gave a plant to my cousin last year, expecting it to be dead within weeks. In September he sent me a photo of a chilli-laden plant, along

year. I like the seasons - I look forward to them and patiently wait for them, denying myself fruit until I've first tasted that which I've grown. For me, strawberries and raspberries are a summer luxury. I don't want them in November, not from

gratuitous vandalism on allotments remains horribly common. Thefts range from handfuls of fresh fruit and veg to expensive garden tools, while whole sheds are reported to have been torn down and burned for 'fun'. As gardens and allotments are quieter now than

-sized fruits don't look real to me - I think of them as 'toy tomatoes'. 'Maskotka', 'Shirley', 'Minibel', 'Tumbling Tom' - they're all fine, but they don't excite me. And I'm quite bored of 'Gardener's Delight'. I did enjoy 'Tigerella', which I grew

) harvesting her first home-grown fruits a few months later.The one thing we had in common was early access to a garden. Would we be sat in this office without that privilege? Gardening doesn't just help heal temporary blips, it changes lives. That's why