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in a variety of situations. Spiky cactus and semi-cactus varieties make good companions for single daisy flowers such as rudbeckias, echinaceas and gaillardias, especially if you choose golden yellow, burnt orange and rich red dahlias. For a contrast

Sweet ruby jewelsBy choosing your raspberry varieties carefully, you can enjoy the sweet, juicy fruits from late-June to late-September.See how to... make the most of summer raspberriesWhile you may need space to grow raspberries, you don't need

and medicinal purposes for thousands of years. But they also attract and provide food for various forms of wildlife. Many herbs are easy to grow and have great ornamental value.Angelica archangelica is a tall, shade-loving herb most commonly used for making

from late summer to autumn, attracting bumblebees, honeybees, butterflies, moths and hoverflies.HebeA trusty, late-flowering favourite. The plant's pink flowers make the perfect landing pad for pollinators such as butterflies, moths, bumblebees

of flowers, but is often found visiting flowers of soft fruit, such as blackberries and raspberries.Early bumblebee, Bombus pratorumMore advice for attracting bees to your gardenCreating a bumblebee nest in your gardenMaking a bee hotel for solitary bee

because their tadpoles are slightly poisonous and so the fish are less likely to eat them, preferring frog or newt larvae. Frogspawn tends to be eaten by newts, and frogs require shallow water to breed in, so it makes sense to provide them with separate

-in-law’s greenhouse for the winter.Third - and this is very positive news - the frosty snap will have done wonders for your parsnip crop. Parsnips need a bit of cold to give them the wonderful sweetness that makes them the perfect accompaniment to Sunday lunches

in the kettle after making my first brew of the day to melt them. The bracing cold also helps to wake me up! (Note to self: add thermal pyjamas to my Christmas list).6. Complete seed order before ChristmasMy neat pile of 2013 seed catalogues is sitting next

Geoff to save grapes from his vine to make the raisins for his mince pies or Christmas pud either. My memory fails me as to which brother, Geoff or Tony, won most often, but what a wonderful family tradition they enjoyed together.Of course, Boxing Day

Last week, Butterfly Conservation published a report called The State of Britain's Larger Moths 2013. It makes a depressing read, demonstrating a marked decline in the number of our larger moths over the last 40 years. The survey, conducted