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was that hand pruning removed many small, weak shoots — shoots which wouldn't have been pruned away by the hedgecutter. Left in place, these small sheets each produce a few leaves. These leaves produce more food — through the process of photosynthesis

It's that time of year again when sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea and a seed catalogue is much more inviting than going outside and cleaning the greenhouse, raking up leaves or - as I found last Sunday - removing diseased, mummified plums from

My first job when I moved into my flat last August was to remove the paving stones in the back yard. Now, after five months of having a building site for a garden, I have bought myself some Christmas topsoil, and I'm itching to get seed sowing

In last week's Observer Magazine, Dan Pearson wrote about collecting berries from hedgerows near him, so he could grow plants with local provenance. This is a subject I've been thinking about a lot recently, so I read on with interest.Put simply, a

, then leave the main shoot to grow and remove any side shoots. Let each plant concentrate on forming a single stem and the resulting flowers should be bigger. You'll get less of them, but these long-stemmed fragrant flowers will look perfect in a vase.Some say

year when I got really obsessed trying to grow the very best sweet peas – just like the show growers. To produce flowers with really long straight stems you need to grow plants as single stemmed cordons. Each plant is only allowed to produce one shoot

For two years, I have been trying to grow climbing plants to cover the walls of my garden. I've planted honeysuckle, passion flower, jasmine, numerous clematis and a revolting rose I found in the street. Some died, others developed mildew, while

Climbing flamesAs summer progresses, late-flowering clematis come into their own, and for me they're as much a part of summer as long, balmy evenings and cricket.There are few plants that give me as much pleasure or colour for so little work as late

-free compost to the bottom of the hole, to aid moisture retention.Water the plant, then gently remove it from the pot. Tease out the roots, then settle the rootball into the hole.Plant deeply, so the top of the rootball is 5-8cm below the soil surface

Filling your garden with colour can be an expensive business. Garden centres and nurseries are packed with attractive bedding plants in April and May, which are perfect to plant out for an almost instant show.This convenience comes at a price. It