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shoot. Always cut just above a healthy, full-sized leaf. That's where the hormones concentrate, so the plant is able to produce a new flowering shoot quickly.Deadhead regularlyMulch roses in spring and autumn, with well-rotted compost or manure. Feed

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

the dog violet is a harbinger of spring. Right now, small clusters of heart-shaped leaves are taking on a renewed vigour while other plants in the garden die down. I can almost see the little flashes of deep purple that will dot the darkest corners of my

Two years, I felt the need to grow a local, native plant in my garden. I gathered rosehips from a field rose at the edge of a nearby canal, soaked them in water and sowed the seed in coarse compost.The pots sat in a corner of my patio, doing nothing

Shaping topiary is a fun and inexpensive way to create year-round interest in the garden. These plant sculptures contrast dramatically with flowers in summer, and bring structure, style and form to winter gardens.If you haven't tried topiary before

.So, what's left? Thankfully, I was tempted to buy a couple of hardy evergreen ferns from Fernatix while at Gardeners' World Live a few years ago and now, planted in tall terracotta pots, they take pride of place on my patio during winter.Ferns have rotten

of my favourite plants, one that is very much in evidence at this time of year (there were lots at the Chelsea Flower Show last week): the comparatively humble geum. Most of the garden varieties can trace their pedigrees back to either the Chilean Geum

called Panicum 'Rehbraun', planted with Cosmos 'Dazzler' and the fabulous Tithonia rotundifolia (pictured, top) that are bushy and wonderful, but I completely forgot to plant anything for spring: no tulips, no alliums, no nothing. As a result I had

. This way I find out about new plants and curiosity about the world is a healthy thing.Today the subject about which I know nothing is carnivorous plants. I had a Venus fly trap when I was a boy and it was a source of great fascination - although sadly

stop to our normal November gardening routine. I would usually be spending jolly weekends doing a bit of light tidying, collecting the last of the autumn leaves and planting the last of the tulip bulbs. Instead we have been shoveling snow out