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unexpected like the tawny leaves of beech with ruffles of ice, or the stems of roses which suddenly grow three times as many thorns.There are all sorts of winter treasures to find out there in the frost - not just in your gardens but in parks, hedgerows

on light levels. It's the constant temperature plus good light that encourages germination. The seedlings are growing in modular trays; this is a brilliant method that allows for easy transplanting into the garden as soon as the soil warms up. As the roots

's more, this year I had to dispose of up to four diseased tubers per net. Next year I'll be more organised and buy them from the seed catalogues. I would also advise any first-time potato growers to ignore the growing instructions on some potato bags

pictured is Achimene 'Ambroise Verschaffelt', which has an upright growth habit unlike other trailing varieties. You can tell it's a good variety because the Royal Horticultural Society has given it an AGM (Award of Garden Merit).Achimenes grow from funny

at it too. Like every child (and indeed most adults too) they love the 'planting pretties' side of gardening. They're forever growing flowers for their plots (currently polyanthus and more polyanthus!). But they also seem to thrive on hard graft. Just a few

, but I like the upright ones with big double blooms packed like petticoats with swirling layers of petals.The large flowers are quite heavy, so to avoid plants toppling over I always grow begonias in terracotta pots instead of lightweight plastic ones. I

; the temperatures have reached 23ºC in the day and fall to 13ºC at night. Sudden high temperatures after a long period of cold have caused many plants to grow very fast, which leads to wilting. The wonderful Angelica archangelica was the first to succumb

description of culinary or medicinal uses. I hope this extra information will further inspire those that see the display to grow and use herbs.

moved on enough that we do not feel obliged to ritually sacrifice the King and Queen of the May at the end of each growing season.

lively programme of theatre shows and informative demonstrations on the Grow Your Own stage. You may even see the presenters at work, filming for the Gardeners' World Live special TV programme.What do I enjoy most about the show? Two things, really