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point brought home to me recently when I was bowled over by the efforts of children from my local primary schools.I'd been called in to lend my support to judge a Compostable Garland Competition, and what a difficult job it was. Clearly these school

-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

New plants at Chelsea 2008The plant marquee is packed with new, and often awe-inspiring cultivars. Here are some of our favourites from this year's show.Jarava ichu, or Peruvian feather grass, forms mounds of bright green foliage with showy, silver

soon germinate.I do prefer sowing in small pots in my greenhouse, and then planting out seedlings, but if you really don't want the hassle just sow them directly into the soil in May at the base of a support. Once shoots have grown about 15cm tall

scented blooms from May-September.LavenderThe stinging nettle, Urtica dioica, is one of the most important native wildlife plants in the UK. It supports more than 40 species of insect, including larvae of the small tortoiseshell and peacock butterflies

splits open. Crumpled, papery petals tumble out and within hours, the bud cases are abandoned. The flower stems are strong and tall, each supporting a single magnificent bloom.Oriental poppies love the sun and although they will tolerate most conditions

.Bulbs need enough time in the cold and dark for the root system to develop and support flowering. Use a thermometer to ascertain that your shed or garden is cold enough (it should be around 10°C). Once inside, place the bulbs or corms in a cool, north

greenhouse in April the seeds germinated readily, sending up long shoots carrying tendrils that catch onto anything close-by for support. Achocha isn't hardy so I waited until conditions had warmed up before planting out at the base of my fence and fan

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