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if it attracts breeding frogs next spring.

level and pile on a deep layer of compost to prevent frost penetrating the ground and reaching the tubers.This has worked well in the past, although dahlias that are left outdoors are slower to get going in spring than those started off in the warmth

when I see it. Its bark is decorated with a thick crust of lichen, and lots of birds, especially thrushes, eat its fruit. It’s beautiful. Not only would my crab apple provide fruit for birds in winter, but its spring flowers would attract bees

soil as possible and store the energy-packed tubers in a dry, frost-free place until spring. I have decided to try a bit of an experiment this year and am going to leave some of my dahlia tubers in the ground. Instead of digging them up, I will cover

guises of the harlequin. I met my first pine ladybird last spring, thanks to a heavy gust of wind blowing it out of a tree on to the pavement I was walking along, and I once found the larvae of tiny Scymnus frontalis (which somehow resembled Dougal

a firm, waxy texture and many have an intense, nutty flavour.For many years the most common salad potato was 'Jersey Royal' - revered by the greengrocer as the herald of spring. With today's interest in 'grow your own', many more varieties

seed sowing. My sowing list includes greenhouse tomatoes, chillies and sweet peppers, plus a few half-hardy bedding varieties – all plants that benefit from early sowing and a long growing season.My plan for the week involves something of a spring clean

and miserable).If your fences are a bit ramshackle, held up by bits of string or leaning exhausted against a convenient tree, then early spring is a good time to sort them out.First you need to establish who owns the fence. If you are lucky there will be some

deep for mating frogs, and a touch on the shady side. Frogs tend to prefer mating in the shallows of ponds with a fair amount of sunlight, where the frogspawn can warm up quickly in the spring sunshine. The frogs local to my mum have always mated

’s certainly cheaper to grow your own from seed, but you’ll need to be skilled at germinating seeds, not to mention having the space and time. If you buy plug plants in spring, instead, you’ll find the growers have done the hard work – and there are still good