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Sown now in the greenhouse, dahlia seeds will produce young plants ready to plant outdoors in late May to flower this year. Seed companies sell a range of quick-growing bedding strains that are suitable for growing this way. You can also use

This week I've been thinking about pinks - or Dianthus if you prefer. I was spurred into this train of thought by the arrival of a catalogue full of the things from a nursery in Sussex. Initially I dismissed pinks as terribly old-fashioned and a bit

Rose Shades (from Mr Fothergill's seeds), producing a simple, single rosette in shades of rose pink. They only grow to about 45cm, so I've planted them closely to form a carpet between some standard Bonica roses in a complimentary shade. The marvellous

Are you snowed under with seed catalogues? It seems that even before the summer stutters to an end we have to start thinking about next year.I don't usually grow much in the way of annuals in my garden (apart from dahlias and poppies, of course

tree is under discussion again, with only one of us voting for the chainsaw option. Today I'm determined to make that voter change his fatherly mind. You see, the tree is now in blossom, covered from head to mis-shapen toe with gorgeous white, pink

I love the delicate flowers of prunus, although I'm not so keen on the blowsier, pink varieties I sometimes see in other gardens. The smaller, more delicate spring blossom hits the spot for me.Like most gardeners, I also have a nose for a bargain

The whole world seems to be teeming with life at the moment: the birdsong is delightful, the snails are on the march (in spite of my discovering at least three huge hibernation areas during the winter) and the plants are growing at phenomenal speed

If I followed the adage that every plant in my garden had to earn its place then I'm not convinced peonies are worth growing. When it comes to their contribution to the display I'd have to say it's... brief. Of course, anticipation is a virtue every

down gradually by reducing watering in autumn, then overwinter their tubers to replant next spring.Calla lilies have a tongue-twister of a botanical name: Zantedeschia. They grow from dormant tubers (well I think that's what they are). They need a good

garden should have one. There are a couple of varieties that make excellent garden trees. In particular Crataegus laevigata 'Paul's Scarlet', which has spectacular double pink flowers, and Crataegus laciniata which is much more compact.Fortunately we have