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the oddly named Fluffius Muppetus.Typing on the Void documents everyday life as a gardener (sorry, head propagator) at Lytes Cary, a National Trust property in Somerset.The Inelegant Gardener mixes stories about her garden with fascinating stuff about

Who said gardening wasn't easy? Okay, maybe some parts aren't that simple - grafting, propagation, weeding on cliffs, getting rid of slugs and innumerable other things but some aspects of gardens are unbelievably straightforward.Look at this picture

, with regular deadheading, keep going until the autumn. Propagation is also quite simple: take cuttings from the non-flowering shoots in the summer.I haven't even started on alpine and annual varieties but must mention D. carthusianorum - a really good perennial

in all stages of its life from bud to corpse) and with flashes of red field poppy.Isatis is easily propagated from seed sown in the autumn and can make an interesting and unusual addition to a border. However, should you decide that you want to enter

to write. A brief history of modernist design? An investigation of the idiosyncrasies of the Linnean system? A illustrated discussion of the baroque? The propagation of rare orchids? Advanced composting techniques?Instead, I've decided to ramble about one

available today. (The other was the first example of 'Cox's Pomona': not as well known, but still a good dual-purpose apple.)The descendants of this tree were propagated by a local nursery (Messrs E.Small & Son) and became available to the general public