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have been a real triumph. It hasn't been an easy growing year, with very hot, dry spells followed by regular downpours, but the pelargoniums have been in flower since spring and are still going strong.One amazingly vigorous variety, 'Calliope Dark Red

trumpets bursting open at tip of yellow courgettes are pure beauty – and yes, they are good enough to eat (deep fried in a tempura batter sounds appetising).Flowers adorn climbing beans, squash, tomatoes, aubergines, chillies, garlic chives and many more

are commendable, if nothing else. There are friends who grow the plants indoors and wonder why they don't fruit (the flowers need pollinating); friends whose plants flower and fruit but the tomatoes rot at the ends (blossom end rot caused by irregular watering

hoped the clover would fix nitrogen in the soil, which would directly feed the chillies and encourage new leaves to grow. This seemed to work, and before long the plants were in full leaf and flower and attracting lots of hoverflies.I did get some

flowering, to ensure they have enough energy to grow the chillies, tomatoes or beans we're growing them for. This is especially pertinent when growing them in containers, as there is only a finite amount of nutrients in the compost. Once this is used up

are available from mail order fruit suppliers for immediate potting. Kept on greenhouse staging, they quickly grow during spring. It’s important to be vigilant for signs of greenfly or red spider mite, and to treat affected plants immediately. Warm greenhouse

too, like 'Golden Streaked' or 'Red Lion'. It's a misconception that watercress only grows in running water as it grows well in large pots where their compost can be kept permanently moist. It's easy to grow just by sprinkling its fine seeds over

rightly - and while not unpleasant, they were certainly an acquired taste.Dandelions grow bigger, with longer leaves, in wild areas than they do in lawns, where mowing keeps them flat and close to soil level. Apparently, the French often eat them as a

. Seedlings need watering, as do flowering broad beans and garlic.I'm anxious to get tender crops planted outside so that I can set-up an automatic watering system in the greenhouse for my tomatoes and cucumbers. Chillies, sweet peppers and aubergines grow