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A lot of plants are, like stragglers from a hen night, not very good at remaining upright without some support. (Although they are much less likely to wear unnecessarily short skirts or disgrace themselves in shop doorways).I'm very lucky to live

flurry of blackbirds that descend upon the plants and quickly strip them of berries (not the best photograph but they are very jumpy).I get a bit fernickety over supporting wires for climbers. I like them to be as tight as guitar strings, so I always use

nigra, with black stems, and P. aureosulcata f. aureocaulis. I have used them as screens, specimens in pots and in innumerable planting schemes. However, they are mere minnows compared to some of the Asian varieties that grow to 20m high with stems (or

of goodness). My favourite plant at this time of year is a magnificent Parthenocissus that covers an old building nearby.I like to go there every few days to watch the leaves change from deep green to pink and yellow and deep dark red. It is a truly

and have been fascinated by it ever since. It is not a friendly plant - in fact it is quite hostile when you get in close. The stubbly leaves can reach a diameter of about six feet and are supported by thick, thorny stems. The flowers are odd

. Joseph Pemberton in the early 1900s. He was vicar of the splendidly named Havering-atte-Bower in Essex, where he lived with his sister and helper, Florence.Clergymen were responsible for much plant breeding and research around that time, as they were

methylated spirit should be powdered and mixed with bran, and the mixture scattered on the negative which is then set on the ground. The tin, supported by a piece of wood keeps the bait dry". It's a great act of faith to follow instructions written

-forgiving whiteness has gone and left behind it … well, a lot of soggy, mucky chaos. Hedges are staggering slightly after supporting all that weight and my flower borders look about as attractive as roadside ditches. I tend to leave my herbaceous plants standing

goodness or the Olympics with all that stirring sportiness to occupy our minds - and also for the tantalising glimpses of the Olympic plantings of James Hitchmough, Nigel Dunnett and Sarah Price. Perhaps they will all be given baronetcies in tomorrow’s New

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