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Growing vegetables from seed can make a limited budget go a long way. Some crops, such as maincrop potatoes and onions are fairly cheap to buy in shops, so growing your own might not save you a lot of money. But runner bean, cherry tomato

. Undeterred, I thought I’d try something else for 2013: yew, Taxus baccata. I’m very fond of yew; I love seeing gnarled old trees in graveyards, exploring the patterns and fissures of their bark. Left alone, yews can grow for centuries. One specimen

, brick or paving slabs, it needs to be level and square. Check it’s flat with a spirit level, and make sure the diagonals are the same length to keep it square (if it’s not in line, the glass panes won’t fit). When building a base, check the exact size

entrance hole can make a fantastic substitute for many species. And birds won’t just breed in it – a well-placed box can also provide winter refuge for small species such as wrens. More than 60 species are known to use nest boxes, including blue tits, great

-headed gull that you are most likely to see far inland. Indeed, many books make the point that it cannot really be called a ‘sea’ gull. These are the raucous white spots attentively following the tractor as it ploughs the dark lowland soil

magnolias, cherries and azaleas. It’s a great place for wildlife enthusiasts, too. Even if you only have an hour or two to spare, I’d heartily recommend a visit to your nearest arboretum. It makes a much cheaper, healthier and probably happier alternative

pallid nymphs make the white frothy gobs of cuckoo spit as they feed by sucking plant sap. There are dozens of them. And not only are they hopping about on the sunny foliage, they’re busy having sex too. Perhaps this is a bit ambitious, given that they

made it impossible to sow seeds directly outside in the garden. The ground was just too wet, making it difficult to prepare the surface soil to sow into. Any small seeds I did endeavour to sow got washed away, wasting time, effort and money

problem with spider mite last winter, but it’s best to err on the side of caution.This virtuous activity is always very satisfying, and makes me feel prepared for the year ahead. Roll on 2013, and a productive growing season!

reading the paper - becomes more important than making decisions about where to plant bulbs. Silly really, but there you go.Fortunately, all is not lost. A good healthy tulip (by which I mean a bulb that is about the size of an egg and is firm of flesh