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and a sprawling midnight-blue sage. A spectacular display.The Korean chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum rubellum) is as tough as old boots. They were originally bred in about 1930 and can take temperatures down to about -20ºC. They grow about a metre tall

. Apricot trees (Prunus ameniaca) grow particularly well there because of the south-western aspect and because, before the invention of the gutter, they got lots of rain - apricots need lots of water to prevent the fruit from splitting.I mention this because

variety which is good for the smaller garden. However, one of the problems about weeping trees is that pretty well nothing will grow underneath the canopy: especially grass.Last is Malus tschonoskii: this is a very upright growing tree that is excellent

cm) but the pale yellow flowers have a rather charming twist. Good for pots and the front of borders.Dahlia 'David Howard': reminds me of the finest chunky cut marmalade. The orange is quite strong but very cheerful. I grow it with the second flush

to use wire or plastic netting stretched horizontally and supported by posts about 60cm high. The plants then grow through the netting. All very well, provided that you don't need to do much weeding - preparation is all. However, gardeners are nothing

I wonder how many of you out there grow mulberry trees? Probably not enough of you. I have vivid memories of the first mulberry tree I came across in the grounds of a big old house in Surrey.My recollection is not one of the great horticultural

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

would include so many more...what about a pomegranate? (I photographed this one growing in a huge pot in the Jardins de Luxembourg in Paris). Go out there and hug a tree: the neighbours may stare, your children will undoubtedly be completely mortified

chrysanthemums.It is pretty straightforward to grow your own ornamental cabbages although they suffer from the same predators as normal brassicas. Seeds should be sown in springtime.They should last in containers for much of the winter - although if the pigeons

My elder son Archie made his first vegetable garden this year, in the back garden of a slightly scummy, student infested house in deepest Peckham. It was a very enterprising community effort by all of his housemates, involving sporadic (though manic) digging interspersed with fre...