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the end of the 2012 growing season. The reason I’m flustered is that there’s so much still to do, and the most urgent job is to bring any tender plants that are still outside under cover before they’re damaged.I have a lovely selection of tender succulents

things, growing new plants, and of course experience problems that you can learn from. After all, no two years are alike are they? When I first started getting interested in gardening organically I read a great deal about companion planting, and always

I always have a dilemma in April, choosing the right plant supports for my tall border perennials, delphiniums in particular. Last year I used lots of home-grown sticks leftover from pruning my silver birch. Pushed firmly into the soil around clumps

More gardeners choose pansies and violas as their favourite bedding plant than any other flower.These brightly coloured flowers with their cheerful faces brave the very worst of our weather to put on displays during winter and spring, and voting

Choosing the very best plant supports for perennial plants is always a challenge. Firstly you've got to decide which type of plant support to go for. Should it be something robust made of metal, or something more natural, or even homemade?Then you

The same thing happens every year. I buy my bulbs in good time, and then don't make time to plant them! I've got a huge bag of tulips and other bulbs to be planted, but it will soon be December.Other things got in the way during October, and then I

's these long evening spent leisurely flicking through seed and plant catalogues that are costing me dearly. After a first run-through, the list of 'must have' plants is far too long, so I have to go through again in more detail. This is meant to be a ruthless

Although flowers usually steal the headlines, think how bleak a garden would look without foliage. Leaves are a vital part of every garden. Consider the contrast between the lushness of summer and the bleakness of winter, when tender plants have

Christmas is fast approaching, and perfume houses will soon be tempting us to buy fragrances for our nearest and dearest. No doubt they'll do a roaring trade, but to my mind natural perfume can't be beaten. Fragrant plants and flowers add another

dwarf narcissi or delicate snake's head fritillaries – I love them all.Like many others I'm sure, I try to work out the cost of these massed plantings of thousands of bulbs. I also think of the sheer effort that goes into planting these areas