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Make a bug boxEncourage helpful insects such as ladybirds, lacewings and bees into your garden by building them their own bug box. Giving them somewhere to shelter or hibernate, this simple to build home is perfect for gardeners who want to look

If grown in the right spot, tulipscan flower for years on end, adding a splash of dramatic colour to gardens every spring. But they can be difficult to grow in heavy soil or partial shade, only thriving in a light, free-draining medium in full sun

flowerheads in summer. It will perform equally well in a sunny border or a container.Jarava ichuThis easy-to-grow bearded iris, with butter yellow and lavender petals, will flower from late-May to mid-June.Iris 'Lullaby of Spring'This short, smoky yellow iris

of room to grow and stand them outside on warm days, bringing them indoors when the temperatures drop. By late-June it's usually safe to leave them outside in a sheltered, south-facing, sunny position. When temperatures dip again at the end of summer

You can create a wildlife corner in eventhe smallest garden, and it doesn't have to be a patch of unmown grass or a scrambling scrub thicket. A single, large container will suffice, containing plants to attract bees, butterflies, hoverflies

planting.Blackcurrant bush, e.g. 'Ben Sarek'ForkSpadeCompostGeneral fertiliser such as blood, fish and boneSecateursautumn and winter45 minutesChoose an open and sunny site. Fork over a wide area of ground, then dig a hole deep enough to accommodate

tomatoes against a sunny fence, then part of a flower border and before you know it the garden is disappearing under a tsunami of produce. The next step is either to invade your neighbours' gardens (not something that is generally encouraged) or to find

as effective. You don't have to build a huge habitat – a small pile or rocks or logs in a sunny part of the garden will suffice. If you can, try to create the habitat alongside an area of long grass, so there are plenty of insects to eat, and further places

TrowelPlant labelsPencil or waterproof penWatering can with a roseMarch - May, August - October15 minutesJune - OctoberMake a straight drill of even depth by pressing a bamboo cane into moist soil. Rows need to be about 15cm apart, in a sunny site.Take pinches

a whole list of the beans, courgettes, pumpkins and other crops that they had destroyed in her garden. Oops.I have to be slightly more circumspect with my comments these days. But when, during that lovely warm sunny burst on Monday afternoon, I found