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and planting.I've already fished out my seed tin, and have various piles of seeds to sow in month order in the front room. I can’t wait for that steamy, greenhouse scent that will permeate the flat once seed sowing is fully underway. The front room

Last year I had a great crop of chillies. I was so pleased with them that I couldn't bear to throw the plants on the compost heap when they'd finished fruiting. So I saved my favourite two to overwinter indoors as an experiment in chilli endurance

Last week I found vine weevils on the rim of the pot my orange tree lives in. It stands next to my 'nursery' of seedlings, so potentially hundreds of plants could be affected. The adults cause little damage, save for a few nibbles on the edges

I love the way plants hold associations with places and key events in your life. Some - like pheasant's eye daffodils - I grow in my garden as a fond reminder of the childhood associations I have with them. Others somehow seem to slip the net

I seem to be bucking a trend among homeowners. Rather than paving over my garden, I have 'un-paved' it, unlocking the earth and growing a range of plants to provide habitats for wildlife.The paving of front gardens is becoming increasingly common

While many plants have been late to flourish this year, I’m pleased to report that the blue and great tits that forage in my garden every spring are bang on schedule.Regular readers of this blog will know that every year my tiny courtyard garden

This year I'm determined to only grow one variety of tomato. This is because my garden was overrun with tomato plants last year and I couldn't get onto my patio for growing bags and poorly staked cordons. So 2011 will see a more streamlined effort

Following my recent blog Top 10 plants for a dream garden, I’m expanding the wishlist to include fruit and veg. I think it’s good to have a goal, no matter how distant it may seem.I like to think that if I have a decent-sized garden, with room for a

Two years, I felt the need to grow a local, native plant in my garden. I gathered rosehips from a field rose at the edge of a nearby canal, soaked them in water and sowed the seed in coarse compost.The pots sat in a corner of my patio, doing nothing

enthusiasts entertained, from talks and demonstrations in the new Garden in Harmony Theatre, to 'biodiverse' show gardens and dedicated nature-friendly plant nurseries.It was my first trip to Malvern. First stop was the Garden in Harmony Theatre, which