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Absence will always make the heart grow fonder: especially in gardens. I have just got back after a few days at the Malvern Spring Show — which was, as always, great fun, pretty fabulous and completely exhausting — and it is amazing how much fuller

I've been letting a few crops run to seed this year. I left a few parsnips and a couple of rows of leeks over winter to be harvested as and when I needed them, but there were far too many of them and many stayed in the ground.In spring, the leeks

through to late-spring under cover, whether in the greenhouse or on a windowsill. All of them appreciate the extra light outside in the summer garden. For stability, all are potted into terracotta pots, as plants in plastic ones blow over far too easily

something stupid like try and walk on water. The froglets must have found their way to my drain during the dry spell in spring and got stuck.Ponds can be incredibly dangerous places for children, but there are alternatives to just getting rid. My mum

in other parts of the garden. I planted the very luscious Dahlia 'Hillcrest Royal' to make up for the absentee monarda, it's a bit pinker but equally effective.The thalictrum has gone a bit floppy as my early spring staking was a bit shoddy in places

of pots and still have some daffs, crocus and 200 mixed alliums to plant, I may invest in some aquatic baskets to plant the bulbs in. Once I've lifted the slabs I can dig a few holes and lower them into the ground. My spring bulbs will be none the wiser

I've always loved horse chestnut trees and fondly remember a specimen near the house where I grew up. It was massive: beautiful in spring, lush and green in summer and a plentiful source of much-coveted conkers in autumn. Eventually it was deemed

. Their fundraising target for 2010 is £3m.You don't have to wait for the summer to start visiting gardens. At this time of year there are marvellous snowdrop and early-spring flower collections to visit. This coming weekend you could visit gardens from Wiltshire

, and the warm weather. And that weather has already brought forth its first worshippers. Within minutes of exploring the garden we are buzzed by a bee-fly, Bombylius major, that perfect herald of spring as it bobs its hovering flight over the red dead nettle

of soil conditioning compost or manure costs at the garden centre this spring?