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Shade can be a nightmare if your heart is set on growing summer bedding, fruit and veg, or Mediterranean plants, which need direct sun to flourish. But there are plenty of beautiful plants which thrive in shady conditions.Many people imagine

, comfrey and lavender in a pot and it's going to look great in July. It will be also alive with the buzzing of bees (I hope my whole garden will be).I'd love everyone to grow such plants in their gardens, but I realise this isn't realistic. Wild flowers

their prejudices: I, too, dismissed all hanging baskets and garishly coloured window boxes as tasteless and vulgar.But a couple of years ago, brothers and sisters, I saw the light. No matter how much I disliked the colour combinations I could not deny the fact

to be irresistible. Those open boxes of loose bulbs just aren't the same. They may be a bit cheaper, but pictorial packs provide something to focus on while waiting for the bulbs to bloom.Last spring I bought a wonderful new variety of lily called 'Strawberry & Cream

to have done by now. A box of tulips is sitting under my desk (along with two pairs of shoes, the overspill from the waste paper basket and a pen top whose presence I have been missing for a while). They should have been planted at least a month ago (the

.'Quail'At 20cm high this May-flowering jonquil type is so small it needs to be planted where you can see it - in window boxes and pots. It's extremely fragrant so position it where you will be able to smell it.'Sweetness'More on growing daffodilsHow to force

flower heads of this compact grass, and its signature 'quaking' habit make it well worth growing. Place in full sun or light shade.Briza media 'Limouzi' (Quaking grass)This semi-evergreen, dwarf sedge is perfect for growing in window boxes. A sunny

by planting bulbs. Try daffodils and crocus (tulips don’t grow well in grass) and don’t mow for six weeks after flowering, as this gives the leaves time to return nutrients to the bulb.Plant bulbs in your lawnBare patches can develop where a lawn is regularly

of year. I’d start sowing now but I don’t want weak, leggy, light-starved plants.I’ve never had a blank canvas for a garden before. It’s not a big garden, but there’s room enough for a few mistakes. I’ll be growing most plants from seed, and scrounging

the end of the 2012 growing season. The reason I’m flustered is that there’s so much still to do, and the most urgent job is to bring any tender plants that are still outside under cover before they’re damaged.I have a lovely selection of tender succulents