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very romantic orchard and 25 acres of wooded hillside scattered with eccentric sculptures (including a vast drystone turtle), streams, a whale-shaped lake and a ruined village. Oh, and there is an outdoor green theatre which will, weather permitting

different foliage textures and shapes on long trailing stems, with highlights of large double begonia flowers and tiny white stars of sutera. The basket can be hung from a tree or garden structure away from the house, where the calmer colours and blend

shape. Although it is an old variety (1906) its beauty hasn't been eclipsed. Height 1m.Papaver 'Mrs Perry'This slightly washed-out poppy bears the name of the 20th-century artist, who scoured East Anglia in the late 1930s, looking for pale versions

crab apple, hawthorn and potentilla, seem to be irresistible to our buzzing friends, as are the flowers of fennel, angelica and cow parsley, and sedums.Tubular-shaped flowers, such as foxgloves, snapdragons, penstemons and heathers, are also all

the plants from which you will breed your hellebore. Choose a mother plant - the one to be pollinated, which will eventually bear the seeds - for its vigour and a good, even flower shape. Choose a father plant - which will supply the pollen - for the colour

the hardcore, ensuring the footings for the bed are more secure.Using the line-marking spray paint, mark out the shape of the bed. For straight lines, tie a piece of string to two wooden pegs, secure the pegs in the ground, pulling the string taut, then spray

't surprise you to learn that John's allotment is always in great shape. Then I started thinking about the book I had just finished, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Covey points out that one of the ways to be effective is to develop

varieties are great for bringing a bit of glamour to the dinner plate -they make striking looking oven chips or potato wedges: leave the skin on and cut to the desired shape then dry off in a tea-towel before cooking. Spread them on a baking tray with some

and flavour is 'Jermor'. This is also a French variety but unlike the 'Hative de Niort', 'Jermor' has a 'longue' shape with good storage life. If it's too cold outside and you have a cold greenhouse or cold frame, you can start shallots off now in 8cm plastic

a good purple dahlia, 'Orfeo' is another cactus type which goes well with 'Karma Lagoon', a water lily variety with striking violet petals. I like mixing different shapes of the same colour so I don't have to worry if they all go together.This year