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Earwigs, which can be up to 14mm long, hide during the day and emerge at night to feed. The females lay eggs in late-winter, usually in the soil, which hatch in spring. Although earwigs can damage plants, they also eat small pests and their eggs

and a sprawling midnight-blue sage. A spectacular display.The Korean chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum rubellum) is as tough as old boots. They were originally bred in about 1930 and can take temperatures down to about -20ºC. They grow about a metre tall

Keep potted herbs on the staging to crop over winterMove potted bulbs into the greenhouse to develop before bringing into the houseClear out old crops and growing bagsWater sparingly and aim to keep the atmosphere as dry as possible over winter

chrysanthemums.It is pretty straightforward to grow your own ornamental cabbages although they suffer from the same predators as normal brassicas. Seeds should be sown in springtime.They should last in containers for much of the winter - although if the pigeons

blinds and shade nettingSow sweet peas for early flowers next summerClear out old crops in pots and growing bags, adding them to the compost heapBring pots of late-flowering chrysanthemums under coverLine the inside of your greenhouse with bubble

something with a far more complicated botanical name, but remember that plants are popular for a reason. Plants fall in and out of fashion (like conifers featured in my last blog), but you really shouldn't let this put you off growing them.Chrysanthemums

glazing inside and outBring potted camellias into unheated porches Buy chrysanthemum cuttingsGreenhouse20 minutesDiscover how to grow early strawberries

Cut late-summer-flowering clematis right down to soil levelDivide congested clumps of perennials such as asters, campanulas, rudbeckias and chrysanthemums after floweringPlant bare-rooted rosesDig up and compost exhausted summer beddingPlant out

Raise crops in a grow bag Anyone can grow tomatoes, even if you only have a balcony! All you need is space for a bag of compost, plus a few tomato seedlings, and the promised harvest is a matter of weeks away. There's a huge range of young tomato

I'm not a great one for growing flowers on my plot. Maybe I shy away from raising flowering plants on the allotment because I grow so many in my main job (as head gardener at The Bath Priory Hotel). I've grown marigolds as companion plants