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Things really move up a gear in May when you're growing your own. With a greenhouse bulging at the seams, I can't wait for the risk of frosty nights to pass so I can plant them outside.Tomatoes, courgettes, sweetcorn and other tender crops

into the ground where they are to grow. This is vital for root crops, which don’t like disturbance, but good for peas, beans, chard and fast- growing green crops, including spinach and lettuce.Direct sowPrepare a small patch of weed-free soil especially well

herbs, lettuce, tomatoes and climbing beans, which I eat every day, just a few paces away. The most convenient way is to grow them in raised beds, which are much easier to look after. I now have a happy mix of winter salads and wallflowers growing

More information on plants for small gardensDividing snowdropsHand-pollinating helleboresPlanting out lettucesGrowing wildlife-friendly plants

refuse to cross.Copper rings were placed round the base of  'at risk' perennials and hostas in borders early in the year. These rings push down into the soil, then sit proud to form a barrier. At first they stick out like a sore thumb, but as plants grow

of generous triangular zigzags, just for fun. And doing so has really jazzed up my display. Now I can make patterns with lettuces at the feet of broad beans with tall peas shooting up behind. It’s a bit like planning a mixed herbaceous border, but with veg