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would normally be permitted. Instead of a close-mown lawn I have ended up with a much softer, rather shaggy sort of arrangement. Different grasses, flowering weeds and even a small spinney of suckering Coyote willow (Salix exigua - which, while we

-flowered dahlias, no matter how good they look in our borders. Bees like clover, dead nettle, bird's foot trefoil and thistles. I like most 'weeds' and am looking forward to my new lawn being colonised by trefoil and dandelions. I'm growing teasel, red clover

weeding every year (I'm sure she does it deliberately so she can take time off work to watch Wimbledon). Last week she sliced her thumb open deadheading lavender.It's any wonder we go out into our gardens at all, with the dangers of lawn mowing, pruning

for the best offers on peat-free compost and mulch with that.Then there's weed control. That thick mulch provides a perfect overcoat for borders to prevent annual weed seeds germinating, but it has to be a good 7cm or more deep to be effective. Too thin

lake on my lawn once again. It’s happened a few times this year, with relentless rain falling on already saturated ground. I can’t recall this happening before, and it’s quite a change from the scorched and cracked earth caused by droughts in previous

signs of diseases Apply a combined weed, feed and mosskiller to your lawnAround the gardenRemove suckers the stems of standard rosesTie tall border plants like delphiniums to their supportsFinish planting out dahlias, cannas and summer bedding

Build a raised bedHelp banish backache with this stylish raised bed, which not only looks great but also makes planting and weeding easy and painless. Just follow the simple step-by-step instructions and you'll be admiring your handywork in no time

must offer an environment where the local ecology can feel at home. It's likely to include some grasses (beyond a neatly mown lawn) to provide seeds and pollen. It should also include a selection of umbellifers, such as angelica, fennel, chervil or dill

the absence of humans, another is areas of long grass, which provide shelter and breeding opportunities. Bare earth and piles of rubble provide warm spots for insects to bask and burrow, while 'weeds' (many of which are native larval food plants

terracotta pots with polythene to reduce evaporation from the sides of the pot.Mulch soil around plants with straw or bark to prevent evaporation of water from the soil's surface. This will also ward off slugs and prevent weeds from growing, which compete