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AstilbesAstrantiasBegoniasCrocosmiasEuphorbiasFernsFuchsiasGrassesHardy geraniumsHelleboresHydrangeasJapanese anemonesLady's mantleLavendersLilium henryiPelargoniumsPenstemonsRosesSedums20 top slug-beatersDon't overfeed young plants in spring, as this only encourages soft growth, which slugs love to eat.Top tips for foiling

wrote a number of important garden books in the 1930s. The photography is not brilliant, but what struck me is that nothing much changes, they're still much the same plants grown in much the same way.Except that perhaps our slug-catching techniques have

It's hard to believe how quickly plants have grown in my garden over the past few weeks. My hostas are doing particularly well. In April I was considering repotting some of my established and congested pots of newly emerging hostas, but they've now

- David's were all eaten by slugs, while Tamsin's disappeared overnight (probably also eaten by slugs). Despite all the attention I lavished on mine, including extra watering and a weekly nettle feed, just two of the six made it above 2m (2.24m and 2.35m

and drawn. 3 strawberry plants (pot-grown or lifted from the garden)Large pot or hanging basketMulti-purpose compostJanuary - April20 minutes harvest May - JunePlant two or three strawberry plants in a hanging basket or large pot of multi-purpose compost

You never quite know what's going to be thrown at you when it comes to weather, but I made a firm decision to plant a plentiful supply of seriously drought-tolerant containers this year. The kids did a lot of the planting and got very enthusiastic

, non-native pond plants. Is anyone else confused?My pond sits under a north-facing wall and is less than 1m squared in size. It has no edges as such, and sits above ground. It currently contains water forget-me-not (Myosotis scorpiodes) and some rampant

.We're challenging you to grow the world's tallest sunflower. The current world record stands at 8.03m, and is held by German flight attendant Hans Peter Schiffer. He took the record in 2009, but it's not been held by a Brit since 1976 (that was Frank Kelland, from

, which open to pinky-white flowers in spring.Skimmia japonica 'Rubella'I love this hosta, with its flashes of creamy white on dark-green undulating foliage. Planting hostas in pots helps to protect them from slug and snail attack.Hosta 'Night Before

luciliae creates a blue haze under trees or naturalised in grass. If you do plant it in a lawn, don't mow too early. Give it a chance to set seed and you'll have even more to enjoy the following year. Height 15cm.Chionodoxa luciliaeLiving up to its common