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Watch Monty's video guide to planting a kiwi plant, ideal for fast-growing extensive coverage of a tree or arbour, and follow his practical tips on positioning for best effect.summerAdvice on growing fruitGrowing citrus plantsTraining a nectarine

-favourite feeding places for bees.It's vital you provide flowers throughout the bumblebee's life-cycle, from March to September. It's also a good idea to have at least two nectar- or pollen-rich plants in flower at any one time during this period. The nectar feeds

Shade can be a nightmare if your heart is set on growing summer bedding, fruit and veg, or Mediterranean plants, which need direct sun to flourish. But there are plenty of beautiful plants which thrive in shady conditions.Many people imagine

Jekka McVicar's 10 companion plantsJekka McVicar's organic herb garden achieved a gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show 2009. We caught up with her at the show to discover her top 10 herbs for growing as companion plants.Companion planting

The Victorians knew their plants, and the gorgeous hot water plant, achimene, was one of their favourites. Who can resist the charms of this little beauty, a relative of the African violet and Cape primrose. I'm a great fan of the gesneriad family

Last Sunday was International Tulip Guerrilla Gardening Planting Day. To mark the occasion, guerrilla gardeners (so called because they grow plants on public or private land without permission), planted tulips all over Europe in tree pits, neglected

I recently visited the community orchard at Haggerston Park. It makes a lovely little wildlife sanctuary amidst the concrete of built-up Hackney: all fruit trees, wildflowers and long grass. It's also home to a few ornamental plants, including pot

my mum's plum tree.When browsing through seed catalogues recently I came across some pretty horrible plants. Take daffodils, for example. You can't beat the elation of seeing your first daffodil of the year in flower. But I don't think I'd like

attentive to plants, especially those in pots, baskets and growing bags. If compost is allowed to dry out plants soon suffer, and then the damage is done.Working gardeners away from home all day need to adopt growing plans that take the strain out

and preparing our beds for planting. This allotment business is not for the faint-hearted.I have a certain routine to preparing my beds for planting, which is dependent on my crop rotation plan. This way I know which beds to add organic matter to and which ones