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soon germinate.I do prefer sowing in small pots in my greenhouse, and then planting out seedlings, but if you really don't want the hassle just sow them directly into the soil in May at the base of a support. Once shoots have grown about 15cm tall

Dulwich, but that lead seems to be a red herring, and Saprosites natalensis is sometimes found making small chewed burrows under cut logs or pieces of garden timber.When this supposedly South African species was found in West London it took quite a time

the small golfball-sized embryo nest with its 15-20 cells in a single paper comb. After she has laid her first 15-20 eggs in these, she must forage for caterpillars, flies, aphids and other insects to feed to the grubs that hatch.This is a vulnerable time

of watering plants. To start with, try and rationalise the number of plants growing in pots and baskets, and if you do always use the largest pots you can. Small pots hold less compost, and less moisture, so bigger is always better. Terracotta pots can

As container-grown fruit and veg start to crop, it's important keep your eye on the ball to ensure they stay productive. I've just harvested a small batch of French beans from my late container sowing as part of the Grow Yourself Healthy campaign

of the few flowers I actually cut and bring indoors. A tall rosebud vase is perfect for a small bunch, and I position it somewhere I regularly pass during the day so I can pick it up, breathe deeply, and lose myself in its sweet scent.There has only been one

, before they pupate and emerge as beautiful adults.Whatever is attracted to compost must be lured there by its smell. Mine is a small, wooden bin, so the waste inside can dry out quickly and often breaks down anaerobically. Because of the bin’s faults

in many different ways. Do you want a tall standard tree or a dwarf one, a screen of single-stemmed cordons or a beautifully trained espalier? You can even plant an apple tree in a small garden - perhaps fan-trained against a warm wall or fence. Apple

around 2001, and about that time I was shown the end-of-season remains of a nest in a small hollow tree in Sydenham Hill Wood. I had heard of them being spotted in Dulwich Park, but had never been fortunate enough to see them myself.There has been a

, transformed for just a few short weeks, before all trace of the bulbs is mown away.Of course, once established, bulbs will readily multiply. Planting bulbs in my own small lawn somehow isn't the same, though - my garden doesn't have the breathtaking scale