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is an organic method of maintaining a natural balance in your garden, aiding pollination and keeping pest numbers down. Common plant combinations include growing herbs with roses to deter aphids, and planting alliums around carrots to ward off carrot root fly

borders.Verbena bonariensis works well in a number of garden settings, such as cottage and contemporary gardens, due to its height and airy appearance. It's also beneficial for attracting wildlife, particularly butterflies.Growing tall on strong, wiry

and set the plants at the same level as they were growing in the trays.AdamKeep garlic well watered during dry weather. If it's dry for long periods, the cloves will not swell and the resulting crop will have a short storage life.More on growing alliums

Peat-free, multi-purpose compostBee hotelsspring and summer20 minutesSit the pot in position, then place a layer of yogurt pots or crocks to aid drainage. Part-fill with compost.Add the plants, placing the taller ones at the back and the lower growing species

to growing exotic plants from seedCollect allium seedsSow seeds indoors

the display will flower againFor a more rustic look, try growing the display in a half wooden barrel, or for a more formal look, a faux lead planterExtend the season of interest by adding later flowering bulbs such as 'De Caen' anemones, dwarf alliums

is called the 'June drop') leaving only the strongest. This is a self-preservation exercise to prevent the weight of the fruit snapping the branches. The remaining fruit then carry on growing and ripening until autumn.There is, however, one extra thing

it looks like. (We've had it where I work - very nasty - have to avoid growing onions and all alliums for years!I know that onion beds need to be kept weeded in summer or the onions become stressed and bolt, producing a flower spike that saps all

Free and easyFavouring a more laid-back approach to gardening, I love plants that self-seed with abandon. Here are a few of my favourites...Find out how to collect allium seedsSelf-seeders are the opportunists of the plant world. They may

will suffer if the compost dries out in hot weather.May-OctoberMay-October30 minutesCelery leaf, Apium graveolens x2Chives, Allium schoenoprasum x3Mint, Mentha spicata x1Purple shiso, Oerilla frutescens var. purpurascens x3Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis x1