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in a newly prepared and tempting looking piece of ground. Into that hole place an inflated balloon which you then cover with a loose covering of soil. The offending cat comes along and performs and then begins the burying process. The claws of the cat

the window at back gardens whizzing by at 70mph. It's also always interesting to see which plants flourish in the no-man's-land of railway embankments. At this time of year there's a dense covering, largely undisturbed by man (apart from the occasional

before or after? Unless I've had time to establish crops for a few weeks and they are happy in the ground, I always leave sowing or planting till after my holiday: reliable watering friends who will do more than sprinkle the soil are hard to find

before it’s flowered, but I can’t help leaving a few around the edge to provide food for wildlife.I hate seeing bare earth in my garden. If I expose the soil I sow a few seeds of red clover on the surface, which germinate quickly and provide some ground

I don’t think my garden could look any worse. The borders I left to rot into themselves have tumbled all over the lawn, the patio is covered in pigeon poo, and there’s now a temporary cardboard compost bin outside my back door because the real bin

in my shed. Those in use will benefit from an overcoat, so during the coldest periods I’ll keep them wrapped in bubble polythene to help provide insulation from cold.2. Store hose reels under coverHose cart, fittings and nozzles are easily damaged

-May or early June and keep on a window sill, in a cold frame or cover with a cloche. Germination should take place within a few days. Keep the compost moist and remove the weaker seedling after two weeks.If growing in the ground, dig a hole 30cm² and 20cm deep

the garden centre, ready to plant.Plant them 10cm apart (15cm if you want bigger onions) and keep them well watered in dry weather. Onions don't like growing in recently manured ground, but they do like fairly rich soil, so if you have any home-made compost

to Desperate Dan.At this time of year all is perfect with tightly furled funnels of foliage poking their heads through the ground. The problem begins when the leaves unravel to reveal, not flawless quilted duvets of perfection, but something moth eaten

in when the old one sprung a leak. Our pond is raised, three railway sleepers high off the ground, so these two females and a male had managed to scramble up and climb in. There's not much else going on in the water yet - no boatmen or beetles or skaters