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flash of scarlet to liven up a dank afternoon.PS The flowers in the photograph above adorn a vast multi-stemmed specimen that I've just (with the aid of much heavy machinery and many sturdy fellows) planted in a client's garden.

wrote a number of important garden books in the 1930s. The photography is not brilliant, but what struck me is that nothing much changes, they're still much the same plants grown in much the same way.Except that perhaps our slug-catching techniques have

peaches as they don't get the dreaded leaf curl.Interestingly, there is a chap called Mark Diacono who has planted a lot of apricots on his farm in Devon (along with a lot of other unexpected things like pecans, olives, persimmons ans Szechuan peppers). He

precious sward (they also tend to undermine young plants).As everybody knows, moles are rather attractive black, velvety furred creatures with enormously powerful paws. They charge around in shallow tunnels eating earthworms. They also paralyse worms

they get going. I have a few which are so embedded in the roots of other plants that all I can do is cut them down each year.However, they are a constant reminder of the impermanence of man (if you would excuse me for getting a bit philosophical for a

grassy bank. The flowers are strong purple and pink and it is a wonderful sight. I wish I had a photograph but driving while taking plant portraits tends to be frowned upon by the constabulary in these parts. It is easy to grow, needing only sunshine

titivating things: more specifically I've been plugging any gaps in the planting to compensate for the ravages of the army of cute (but intensely irritating) baby rabbits that use the garden as their own personal theme park. There are very few ways

, let alone a tree - I know of herbaceous plants that achieve that height in a season. It's difficult to choose a tree that is guaranteed not to get any bigger than the height of a short giraffe, but here is a small selection that roughly fits the bill

and reuse in our gardens.For example you may discover a single plant that excites you, or an interesting and novel combination of two or three plants growing together - everybody has room for that. It may even be something as mundane as a piece of paving

and an interesting story.The elder has always been considered a magic plant, supposed to ward off evil and provide useful protection from witches - in some parts of the world cutting down an elder may bring the wrath of some evil sprite upon you. If that is the case