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It's been a bit wild, wet and windy hereabouts and my dozen or so sweetcorn plants have come crashing down in rather a spectacular fashion. They've sort of collapsed in a circle, reminiscent of the infamous crop circles. (Well we are in the right

tree peony, Paeonia ludlowii brought in from Lucy, our Deputy Editor. It is a seed from a plant Lucy grew from seed and which took 2 years to germinate and another 5 to flower. Imagine the satisfaction though! I think they're both worth it!

It's now May, and we're just 12 days away from building our display at the Chelsea Flower Show. We've had a few bouts of sunshine in the last week, during which I could literally feel the plants growing.The new Nasturtium, Tropaeolum majus 'Black

We've had a mixed garlic harvest so far this year - the bulbs I planted in spring did nothing and were a total waste of time. They were probably the worst I've ever grown (or, dare I admit it, the worst I've ever seen).However, the bulbs I planted

been perfect for rust and the trees were quite badly affected last year. However, other plants haven't been so lucky. Earlier this year, my kids bought some beautiful bright lemon-yellow snapdragons from the local market. The plants were soon ruined

. The plants are for our own display, the theme of which is the myth and magic of herbs. Calendula is steeped in both. It was first used in Indian and Arabic cultures, before being discovered by the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. In medieval England, marigolds

With the fruit swelling on your strawberries it's time to protect them and cover the soil around the plants with a mulch. This will prevent the crop getting splashed with mud when it rains. And don't forget to net the plants against birds and keep

It has been one of those typical early spring weeks, not enough hours to do everything I want to do. The team from BBC Gardeners' World Magazine came down for a couple of days to take a series of photographs on how to raise plants from seed

.It's so rewarding to see the plants all lined up, waiting for their May debut in the best flower show in the world. This week we moved the borage that was sown at the end of December. It's fortunate that borage is a hardy annual, because within a few days

Sown now in the greenhouse, dahlia seeds will produce young plants ready to plant outdoors in late May to flower this year. Seed companies sell a range of quick-growing bedding strains that are suitable for growing this way. You can also use