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and hoverfly and their larvae. The larvae can eat up to 300 aphids before becoming an adult, so ensuring you have plenty of these in your garden will keep aphid populations in check. You can attract ladybirds, lacewings and hoverflies into your garden

Just back from a long weekend in the village of Croscombe, in Somerset between Wells and Shepton Mallet, where The Landmark Trust has a fabulous 15th century building (Old Hall) to rent. Like so many holiday lets, the small garden could not really

few days each year. No sign this week.Despite the apparent warm weekend weather, there is a distinctly autumnal feel in the air. Apart from a few hoverflies sunning themselves on the ivy, there is precious little wildlife out. I wonder if it has

with horticultural soft soap. After the initial spray, with the night temperatures warming up, we'll start our programme of integrated pest management. For aphid control we introduce parasitic wasps, hoverflies and ladybirds - the larvae (especially of the latter two

to encourage good cross-pollination between plants, each plant needs space to grow. This year each plant is at least 30-45cm (12-18in) from its neighbours, which should be enough.I'm trying a few varieties this year, including 'Swift', which is described as "an