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Do you remember the first plant you ever grew in your own garden? Not the mustard and cress or sunflower that you nurtured in a little patch of your parents' gardens but the first plant that you grew just for yourself?I found some ancient

.Some of the young veg planted out over the last few weeks look as if they have been touching their toes once too often and may need to be replaced. I'm thanking my lucky stars that I didn't get around to planting out all the sunflowers I had hoped to at the weekend

grown, will provide cover for birds. The shrubs are tiny and don't yet provide any structure or sheltering opportunities. The teasels, cosmos and sunflowers I've left to seed stand like skinny stalks above flat, lifeless foliage. And I don't have a tree

. Foxglove14. Heather15. Honeysuckle16. Lavender17. Poppy18. Pussy willow19. Raspberry20. Red Campion21. Rosemary22. Scabious23. Sea Holly24. Sunflower25. Teasel26. Thistles27. Viper's bugloss28. WisteriaI'm growing 21 of the above plants in my garden

elsewhere. Growing nectar-rich plants is a good way to entice them in, but they won't nest in your flower beds. Butterflies lay eggs in long grass, nettles and thistles (depending on the species), while bumblebees prefer undisturbed messy areas

. In terms of value, a single perennial could cost you, say, £5.00 to buy, but you could pick up a packet of Godetia Dwarf Mixed flower seed for just £1.39, and grow 1,000 plants! Yes, 1,000 seeds in a packet, and other hardy annuals offer similar great value

' that form part of my garden every year, such as coriander, salad leaves, dwarf sunflowers and 'Gardeners' Delight' tomatoes. I can't cut back on any of these, but then there are new varieties to try, as they all look so much better than my tried and tested

I'm going to copy a lovely combination I saw at a friend's house, also grown at the allotment. My friend's vase contained yellow sunflowers and yellow dahlias (any yellow dahlia will do) and what looked like pale yellow daisies with a chocolate

Guerrilla gardening, the subject of a recent radio programme, is the act of gardening on public or private land without permission. Many guerrilla gardeners grow plants on neglected council land, traffic islands, graveyards, road verges and canal