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Sown now in the greenhouse, dahlia seeds will produce young plants ready to plant outdoors in late May to flower this year. Seed companies sell a range of quick-growing bedding strains that are suitable for growing this way. You can also use this method for sowing seeds saved fro...

.Once planted, my flower borders go into overdrive, spreading as they want with very little direction from me. Neighbouring plants mix and mingle, looking far more natural to my eye than carefully orchestrated displays. One spreader I love is alstroemeria, which

far more quickly than those left intact. Small quantities can be mixed in with other waste in one of my compost bins, but a load like this can be stacked on its own. In the past I've made a leaf bin using four corner posts and chicken wire, but a roll

and work well as part of a mixed border - I have a lovely white iris called Iris sibirica 'Snow Queen' and a blue one called 'Emperor'.These are fine, but they pale into insignificance compared to the huge, complicated flowers of their bearded cousins. Each