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of coming up with the name of the plant, I was instantly transported back to the kitchen of the house I grew up in. On red floor tiles just inside the pantry, next to bottles of squash and my mum's wine-making kit, was a brown ceramic vase containing dried

.It's far more relaxing, and you can do it in the comfort of your own home. What exclusive new varieties will I discover for patio pots, what will tempt my appetite in the kitchen garden, and which plants will steal the show next summer?Well, I'll just

2009 is likely to be stuffed with articles, books and programmes about Charles Darwin. It is the year of Darwin’s 200th birthday and also the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species, his best known work. The BBC are marking

(gardeners insert your own reasons here), and, I'm afraid, to bemoan the fact that not enough funding or political clout is given to insect study and education.I'm one of a number of 'international entomologists' who has been invited to blog about their daily

, restaurants, and - ahem - bird tables.I'm not sure how I'd feel if I attracted rats to my garden. I don't mind them (that is to say, I'm not offended by their existence) and I'd never kill one, but I wouldn't like them in my garden (it's only 4m², after all

The April 2011 issue of Gardeners' World magazine comes with two packets of free seeds: sweet peas and sunflowers. The sunflower variety, 'Russian Giant' promises to reach a height of around 2m, but we think it can do a little better than that

if you want it fiery), salt, pepper, around 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (30ml) and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Make it an hour or two before you intend to eat it. Enjoy!PS You can read about 'Jermor' and the 100 best veg varieties recommended

the garden centre, ready to plant.Plant them 10cm apart (15cm if you want bigger onions) and keep them well watered in dry weather. Onions don't like growing in recently manured ground, but they do like fairly rich soil, so if you have any home-made compost

the wiser.I only get pigeons regularly visiting my garden. Last winter I made efforts to entice smaller, hungrier birds, and managed to attract a desperate pair of wagtails, a blackbird, a robin and a blue tit. They disappeared as soon as the ice thawed

of the patio plants. A mouse nibbles seed heads in one of the borders. There is a Mediterranean bouquet garnis smell in the hot air. Lots of garden thyme in tonight's risotto.Thursday 12th A nuthatch visits the breakfast patio, but I cannot make out what