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elsewhere. Growing nectar-rich plants is a good way to entice them in, but they won't nest in your flower beds. Butterflies lay eggs in long grass, nettles and thistles (depending on the species), while bumblebees prefer undisturbed messy areas

to cover fences, and are used to divide areas of the garden. I have a greenhouse where I can squeeze in about eight tomato plants, a couple of cucumbers, plus pots of aubergine, sweet peppers and chillies. And pots of strawberries too, as grown outside

black mildew (which prevents the plants from photosynthesising and causes leaf fall). This was a disgusting job, made worse by the removal of the sticky blighters from my hair, clothes and fingernails after each session. The infestation was so bad

unusual and interesting at a plant stall. For the owners it is the opportunity to show off all their hard work and raise some money for charity.There are literally hundreds of gardens opening all over the country over the next few weeks so you are spoilt

, finding a fasciated marsh thistle, Cirsium palustre, somewhere in the flood plain of the River Cuckmere, near Alfriston, Sussex, when I was aged 12 or 13. I thought I had found some exciting new plant, or strange metamorphic phenomenon. I was amazed how

to keep the soil in place. Finally we added loam-based compost (made lighter by adding perlite and polystyrene chips), and planted it up with shade-tolerant wildflowers.The day proved that building a green roof is a little more complicated than making a

, following the excellent instructions on Jeremy Biggs's website (Jeremy Biggs is the Director of Pond Conservation). I dug it deliberately with the mating needs of frogs in mind - shallow and sunny, with plenty of plants for tadpoles to shelter in

of the year. Then, after a brief spring, there are a couple of months of tongue-swelling heat before an equally brief autumn and then, bang - the snow returns.So what to plant? Certain trees are a given - Betula pendula (birch) of course. Russia is covered

to continue growing. Plants can then be picked over for several weeks before becoming exhausted, and needing to be replaced. All they'll need is regular watering and the addition of an occasional liquid feed to encourage new growth.Salads also need sowing

and a wonderful stripy frog.Unlike most of her gardening friends, Fabiana grows native plants for moths and birds. A former farm, the land was sown mainly with Italian rye grass for grazing animals. Fabiana removed most of this grass and replaced