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that as the natural clay will - with a bit of work - make the pond watertight.The important thing about making natural ponds (and this is the same in small gardens as well as out in the countryside) is to make sure they look natural and not like puddles stranded

last week). It is a good moment to look back on the triumphs and disasters in our gardens and to make notes, so that we do not make the same mistakes again.Allow me to share a few of my best mess-ups of 2010.My first is a mistake I did make last year

[brightcove exp=1463233149&vref=1604890820]It's very easy to be very worthy and very ethical, and make a rubbish garden, but Toby Buckland has avoided this pitfall...

in recipes such as poppy seed sourdough baguette.But we are not the only ones making free with the poppies. If you look closely you notice that many of them are full of little holes, which make them look quite spooky and skull-like. They look like something

, it boasts the most spectacular colour. The leaves are 70 shades of scarlet, and they contrast with the extraordinary orange seeds and pink seed-pods. The whole plant makes an eyeball-searing spectacle - almost hallucinogenic.In parts of the USA, Euonymus

) and cat wrangling (definitely) have their enthusiasts, but there's something about plants that makes people bubble and froth with excitement. This can be lost on a great deal of the population who can't understand what all the fuss is about. To those of us

I thought it would be interesting to use this blog as an excuse to find out more about the many slightly eccentric people who have helped make gardening as popular and exciting as it is today so this is the first in an occasional series: if anybody

to make a list. Things I need to do before spring: (i) A huge pile of manure has just arrived and I need to get that shovelled onto the borders. (ii) I have to get supports into the borders before things start growing - luckily we live in some woodland so

Think of a vegetable that sums up Christmas. Easy - except that to make things a bit more difficult I am withdrawing the noble sprout from the equation. So that leaves the humble spud and the noble parsnip, and, as far as I am concerned, the latter

that need doing, before those little green shoots in the border suddenly crack on and need attention. It is amazing how forgiving a garden can be: if you dig foundations and make a mess now, the grass will recover and the plants will bounce back by summer