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I need clear signs of spring to help me to recover from a gloomy winter. This year, it seems spring is three whole weeks late. But it is, finally, in full swing: hundreds of daffodils planted alongside my drive are in glorious bloom.The daffodil

When we moved into our house we planted daffodil bulbs by the sackful. The result each spring is phenomenal – our drive is flanked with gold. But at this time of year, when delivery vans and friends visit, the emerging daffodil shoots are often

I've always been a great fan of bulbs, in all their shapes and sizes. I couldn't get through the winter without snowdrops, and the prospect of daffodils, heralding spring. But right now, in (a rather cold and wet) May, alliums are centre stage

When visiting large gardens during spring, I always admire the drifts of dwarf flowering bulbs growing up through wide expanses of grass. Catch them when flowers are at their best and they look magnificent. They could be snowdrops or crocus, dainty

, and the whole lot keels over in a miserable heap, we use the less helpful name of ‘damping off disease’.Damping off disease is a nightmare during spring. As the exciting cycle of seed sowing continues apace, this insidious disease is very much waiting

, according to Chief Horticultural Advisor Guy Barter. The growing season is getting longer, and plants are simply taking advantage.I don't know if my spring-flowering cherry is blooming late, or early. But not only is it in flower, it's also produced a second

Last spring I found a foxglove seedling in a pot, which had presumably self-seeded from a neighbour's garden. Excited, I potted it on and nurtured it in anticipation of seeing it flower this year. (Foxgloves are biennial, so flower in their second

It won’t be long before daffodils, tulips, fragrant hyacinths and a host of other colourful flowers signal the arrival of spring, but if we want summer and autumn to provide similar displays we have to start planning and planting now

to have done by now. A box of tulips is sitting under my desk (along with two pairs of shoes, the overspill from the waste paper basket and a pen top whose presence I have been missing for a while). They should have been planted at least a month ago (the

As a rule, I only grow plants that will benefit bees, moths and other pollinators. I do relax this rule, though, by growing auriculas. I do this for my partner, who loves them (even if bees don’t).We have built up quite a collection over the years