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, for those of you who have not met it before, is the most phenomenally over-the-top cherry tree. A vast amount of frothy white blossom that is spectacular for a week or so in May.Here are the first leaves of Rosa rugosa 'Snowdon', a wildish rose that I have

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

whipped up. So I’ve been battling the elements again, trying to re-fix my cloches and pop-up covers to the ground. But the soil is so wet that the usually efficient pegs just don’t work. I’ve also had to tie in a large wild rose, whose flailing stems had

tufted economy blend.Last year was not a good year as there was too much rain and general bleariness for anything much to thrive. Vegetables drowned and fruit never really came to much, roses were battered by showers and meadows were flattened. Thank

terracotta pots with polythene to reduce evaporation from the sides of the pot.Mulch soil around plants with straw or bark to prevent evaporation of water from the soil's surface. This will also ward off slugs and prevent weeds from growing, which compete

to be done. Spring is a bit like a rollercoaster: you get very slowly winched up through the long days of winter until you teeter on the top. Then suddenly it is downhill rush as everything starts sprouting and growing and flowering and, unless you

've visited. It has sculpted meadows, native wildflowers (including Verbena bonariensis) and a plethora of fruit and nut trees, dominating the landscape. Except for the beautifully kept English rose garden and vegetable patch, the garden is almost entirely

In the words of Benny Hill: "I'll never know how a rose can smell so sweet and pure, And hold its head up high when it's standing in manure!".Old Benny cannot have been much of a gardener (a statement borne out by the fact that he lived all his life

... round shrubs, roses and flowers, along the base of the hedge, around fruit trees and bushes, and over the veg plot. Beans get a good, deep mulch of compost to help conserve soil moisture, too, but it's not just water retention that mulching is good for

My garden - like yours - is looking fantastic at the moment. Plants that were just poking from cold ground a couple of months ago are now enormous and luxuriant. Bees buzz, roses overflow and lawns are lush.Rather than just brag, I thought I