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Not everything in my garden is carefully planned, and I make no excuses for having it this way. It's a wise gardener that makes room for the unexpected, and the rewards this can bring. Leave an area of soil bare and something will grow, and while

will do.More winter plant projectsPlant up a hellebore and carex pot displayCreating a winter display of aster and ornamental cabbageGrowing pansies for winter colour

the footpath.We have a bit of wilder ground by the orchard, which tends to grow unmolested. As a result it's completely swamped by buttercups at this time of year. Buttercups may seem to be a terribly annoying weed, but they belong to a huge and distinguished

to be admired, and I'd grow it for its leaves alone. But at this time of year it adds a new dimension by producing erupting clouds of dainty forget-me-not blue flowers. Gorgeous! My brunnera grows alongside ferns and foxgloves, and my oriental hellebore

. Others are collected and sown in pots in a more organised manner. Among the seeds I've saved this year are foxglove, hellebore, columbine, scabious, Jacob's ladder, snapdragon and calendula.Around my plot I leave lettuce, mizuna, watercress, broad beans

, bumblebees prefer to nest in messy gardens (although they will feed anywhere with suitable flowers), so I want to give nest-searching queens the illusion that I don't garden at all. The grass will grow long, the borders will rot into themselves

AstilbesAstrantiasBegoniasCrocosmiasEuphorbiasFernsFuchsiasGrassesHardy geraniumsHelleboresHydrangeasJapanese anemonesLady's mantleLavendersLilium henryiPelargoniumsPenstemonsRosesSedums20 top slug-beatersDon't overfeed young plants in spring, as this only encourages soft growth, which slugs love to eat.Top tips for foiling

of the soil. Plants suitable for dry shade include:lords and ladies, barrenwort, cranesbill geraniums (left), hellebores, masterwort,Viola labradorica,sweet rocket and mourning widow.Dry shadePlants that will grow in these conditions typically suit boggy areas

flowers for sustenance, and flowers need bees for pollination. But it's important the flowers you grow provide the food bees need.Most double flowers are of little use, because they're too elaborate. Some are bred without male and female parts, while