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Although flowers usually steal the headlines, think how bleak a garden would look without foliage. Leaves are a vital part of every garden. Consider the contrast between the lushness of summer and the bleakness of winter, when tender plants have

. In short, beware: plant it only when you have enough elbow room for it to do its stuff but, if you do have a large and distant eyesore to conceal, then you cannot do much better.

them in large drifts to dance, drunkenly around my borders. I've given up on the crocus, they like the sun too much. I'll plant them in a sunny patch of grass in my flat's communal gardens instead.Spring bulbs don't just provide us with a burst

the snow settled on the floods!All this and it is a mere 16 weeks before we are on site, and 12 weeks before the gardens are built at the Chelsea Flower Show. I always find it a miracle that the plants are ready for the show. It's as if the plants know

in pots. While you can plant dahlia tubers directly into the soil, it's good to give them a head start under glass, before hardening off and planting out in late May. This not only ensures large, healthy plants with lots of flowering potential, but also

the year. It can reach a height of 10m.Prunus serrula, Tibetan cherryFeatured in Toby Buckland's gold medal-winning Ethical garden at BBC Gardeners' World Live 2008, Eriobotrya japonica is a small tree with large, evergreen leaves. Grown in a sheltered

.AdamChoose polythene with large bubbles as this has better insulating properties and lets in more light.Buy bubble wrap by the metre from garden centres. Choose polythene that is specifically designed for greenhouses, as it is UV-stabilised and should last for at least

of plastic inside this.Snip a few drainage holes into the plastic, then fill the basket two-thirds full with compost (mixed with water-retaining gel). Plant the ipomoea and osteospermum off centre.A reservoir makes watering large baskets more efficient, so

-looking brownish spikes that shoot up in summer. You couldn’t fit it into a small garden pond, but it provides enormous impact in a large pond or boggy area of the garden.Unfortunately this Gunnera species is a little susceptible to frost, so it is best to protect

and plentiful and the crop is largely pest-free.BeetrootColourful, fun, stylish and trouble-free. choose your favourite strength and grow three plants in a large tub on the patio with a cane for support. They’ll provide ample crops, with enough over to dry