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Buying a camellia in flower lets you choose exactly the colour you want for your patio show-stopper. This single plant will give you delightful spring colour and its glossy, deep green foliage looks impressive all year round, even when its

There are so few plants that do well in my small, shady garden, but those that do thrive deserve a medal. This week, honesty is taking centre stage, with its tall spires of brilliant white flowers, towering above more subtle spring blooms.I love

produce several symptoms. The leaves turn dull green with silvery-white areas, there's distortion of the shoot tips and the buds may fail to open.There are many different species of thrips, but a biological control in the form of a predatory mite can

cyclamen' or 'winter hardy cyclamen' or something similar. With its classic, dark green foliage richly patterned with silvery white decorations and stunning flowers, it certainly holds a lot of appeal. But how hardy are they? Although I live in the south

Mow the lawnMow your lawn now and you'll enjoy a greener, denser and harder-wearing patch throughout the summer. Whether you want a bowling-green lawn or just a bit of grass for the kids to play on, regular mowing will improve the appearance of your

. Create lots of lanterns for a dramatic display and they'll really light up the scene.Sow green manure crops to fill bare soilRemove pond weedsHoe and hand weed bordersAround the gardenDead head pelargoniums and other summer bedding plantsPrune wisteria

carefully slip split canes down the sides of the pot and tie in the thick fleshy stems with soft green string.Then come the flowers; I usually bring a pot indoors to brighten the kitchen window sill while I'm doing the washing up - it's good to have a

in height its spreading branches cast quite a shadow over the bed below. Being a deciduous tree its full canopy doesn't really develop until later in May, so many early flowering plants have time to bloom before the shade takes over.My star performer over

Summer pruning wisteria encourages the development of short-flowering spurs that will carry the long racemes of bloom in spring. The long vigorous shoots are cut back to a couple of buds from the base of the current season's growth. During initial

Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) is a woodland plant, much valued for its fragrant summer flowers. Its low, spreading habit also makes it ideal for growing as a ground cover plant. Convallaria thrives in a moist, shaded spot, and gradually