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Sap-sucking aphids excrete honeydew, sometimes seen as a string or web of stickiness. This can drip down on to lower leaves and on to other plants. A dark or grey-green mould then spreads across the honeydew. It's unsightly and prevents light

.I find myself buying cyclamen for all areas of the house, including the windowsills and bedrooms. If you shop around you can pick them up from as little as £1.99. And to add to the impact of the foliage and the flowers, many vareities now have a delicate

Strawberry plants will be in growth to flower and fruit four to six weeks ahead of outdoor plants if potted up now and brought into a cool greenhouse or conservatory. Keep them well lit, ventilated and watered to prevent the plants becoming leggy

757Normanby, North Lincs01724 720 588www.northlincs.gov.uk/normanbyDN15 9HUOpen all year, daily, 29 Mar-27 Sep, 10.30am-5pm (dusk if earlier). Adults £5.60, OAPs £5.10, children (5-15) £2.80. Card valid for the whole property.parking,toilets,part-disabled,plants,refreshments,picnic,shop,dogs,public-transport

Work off Christmas excesses by digging over bare areas of groundPlace cloches over tender plants to give them extra protection from frostSharpen blades on hoes, secateurs and other garden tools, and wipe with an oily rag before storing awayDo a

935Inveresk, Nr Musselburgh, East Lothian0131 665 2570www.shepherdhousegarden.co.ukEH21 7THOpen 16 Apr-4 Jul, Tue & Thu, 2-4pm, plus Sat&Sun 4-5 May & 15-16 Jun, 11am- 4pm. Adults/OAPs £4, under-12s free. full-disabled,dogs,public-transport

. If you have a cold frame, use this as a halfway house for a couple of weeks.Bedding plantsTrowelMay - June30 minutes a day July - AugustBring bedding plants out of the greenhouse, or other warm spot where they have been living, and stand them outside

. The stems are at least 3m tall and they bear vast leaves. It needs a fair bit of water so I planted it just by a downpipe on the house so it gets lots of rain.My second star plant is Persicaria polymorpha. It is planted by the door to the chicken shed

and more flower stems. Not all of the flowers are long, elegant show-bench blooms with super-straight stems, but I don't really care, they smell just as fabulous on the plant as in the house. Interestingly, they've not been troubled by pollen beetles

of Colonsay, Colonsay House Gardens. It is not the only garden: there are a few smaller gardens on the island - including what must be one of the most spectacularly sited vegetable gardens in the world: they have used stones set on end as fencing (here is a