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The weather has been great recently, perfect for doing some much-needed lawn care and maintenance. Earlier this year, amid heavy rain, we laid a shed base and erected a shed on it. We used a mini-digger and dumper, and, of course, wrecked the lawn

things warm up. Even the worms are hiding in the base of the heap, where it's slightly warmer. Right now it's raining buckets so I shall stay inside, but as soon as the weather starts to clear I'll be out there wrapping my compost heap with fleece

them swiftly to their new home, firming the soil around the roots with my boot as I backfill the hole. I always water the roots thoroughly afterwards, although sometimes when it's raining I'm not sure it's necessary.

and I think half of them blew away. The second sowing was drowned in steady, unremitting rain and probably rotted. Still, the few that did grow came up well. Thank goodness you only need a couple to go with Christmas dinner!But what about red cabbage

.There's something really inspiring about setting yourself up with seed trays, pots, compost and a big box of seeds indoors, as the rain lashes against the window pane.I like to sow seed of a few plants indoors. Tender crops, such as courgettes and butternut squashes

What a lovely spring to be growing things. The weather has been pretty near perfect — lots of sunshine and some lovely soft, steady rain to get it all germinating and growing well. Perhaps we've had a bit too much wind, and the temperatures at night

proportions.However, the recent soggy, damp weather - which infuriatingly doesn't involve 'useful' rain, which actually penetrates to the plants' roots - has meant that all the later flowers on the courgettes and marrows have quickly rotted. The rot from

's not just about fruit harvests, pumpkins and squashes, but also rust fungi.But here's the problem: rust fungi thrive when there's a lot of surface moisture about, and it hasn't rained for ages. The only moisture on the grass is from the morning dew. So can

Maybe the frog knew it was going to rain. Maybe the persistent dry heat had finally driven it from its slowly desiccating shelter in a desperate attempt to find moisture elsewhere. Maybe I'd disturbed it from the long grass as I pegged out

.Protecting strawberries from slug and rain damage.Growing early strawberries.Propagating strawberries.