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Ensure your orchids last for years with Sarah Raven's video advice on caring for cymbidium and phalaenopsis varieties as houseplants.all year roundCaring for house plantsGrowing hippeastrum.How to grow orchids.Installing an automatic watering system.Creating an aloe container dis...

Learn how to check for signs of frost damage in plants, with Sarah Raven's video advice. Sarah inspects banana plants covered in horticultural fleece for winter, and plants out a banana overwintered in a greenhouse.springMore advice on growing banana plantsHow to wrap a banana pl...

If you're short of sun in your garden but want an interesting summer display, try this rich blend of foliage plants. Both the plectranthus and begonias perform well in shade.April - JuneJuly - September20 minutesBegonia rex x2Purple-leafed plectranthus, e.g. P. 'Mona Lavender' x2...

Tomato plants will thrive on a sunny window sill or in a greenhouse, and may even be transplanted outside in the warmest months. You will need just two small pots to sow your tomato seeds; use a good quality seed compost and keep them in a bright place to ensure they germinate.To...

At last, the warm weather has kick-started the season, and blossom is finally appearing.What a difference a year makes. Checking back at my diary, in 2012 the first 'Victoria' plum blossom opened on 28 March. One year on and the same plum tree only started blossoming last week, o...

Learn environmentally friendly methods for controlling aphids, and other garden pests with Monty's guide to organic insecticides and how they work. Monty also talks you through how to make your own, organic pesticide.summerAdvice on aphids and other garden pestsAphidsMealybugsWhi...

.If frost is forecast in May, bring the pot under cover to protect it.More tropical plant displaysCreating a tropical display of canna and eucomis.Growing tropical aloe variegata in a pot.Planting eucomis bulbs.

so don't plant them out too early, and protect them over winter by bringing them indoors.

Virtually wingless, female winter moths hatch in November, then crawl up fruit trees to mate with male moths. The eggs that are laid hatch into leaf-eating caterpillars in spring. Trap female moths before they climb to mate, by attaching a grease band to trees.Grease bandScissors...

well during the summer. In colder areas protect the rhizomes from frost from January onwards with cloches, horticultural fleece or a thick mulch of straw or compost.Growing tipsLift and divide schizostylis rhizomes from mid- to late-spring every two