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Last winter, when I went to great trouble to feed the birds in my garden, my offerings were largely ignored. This winter, I'm trying again, leaving seeds, chopped apples and suet pellets for ground-feeding birds such as robins, blackbirds

What an odd assortment of weather we've had this year. In just 12 months my garden has experienced heavy snow, a spring heatwave followed by a drab, damp summer, then a second heatwave in autumn. Some parts of the country have experienced drought

trees that are worth looking into. Fruit trees are grown on different rootstocks and, depending on which one you choose, these regulate the eventual height of the tree - useful not just for small gardens, but also because it means that the best apples

've seen some really exciting varieties in commercial seed trials, like the flower, pictured above, that isn't yet available to buy. However, similar cosmos are on sale, such as the double and semi-double flowers on Cosmos 'Double Click'. It grows to 120cm

:FOR THE FILLING:10-15 plums, halved1 tablespoon of water1 tablespoon of sugarCinnamonMixed spice1 thumb-length of fresh gingerPreheat oven to 180°C . Cook the plums over a low heat with the water and sugar. When almost cooked, turn off the heat, allow to cool a