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A lot of plants are, like stragglers from a hen night, not very good at remaining upright without some support. (Although they are much less likely to wear unnecessarily short skirts or disgrace themselves in shop doorways).I'm very lucky to live

planted in my children's plots, complete with home-made plant supports. According to my children "when the beans grow they can use the wigwams too", because "you did say that sweet peas help to encourage the bees to pollinate them".The wigwams are both

), climbers that need support (like roses) and shrubs that can be persuaded to do what you tell them to do (like ceanothus).I decided on the pyracantha (a variety called 'Mojave') and chose to grow it into quite disciplined espaliers. Ten years later

, but nothing germinated. This year I grew three seedlings from seed sown in the greenhouse in April. Slow at first , they soon developed into strong climbers, so tall split canes were pushed into the pots for support. By early June they were about a meter high

the young leaves were added to peoples' sandwiches; it supports at least 149 species of insect and the berries feed more than 23 species of bird; hawthorn is pollinated by dung flies and midges attracted to the mildly unpleasant smell and the fact

neighbours to provide support, taller varieties of alstroemeria would collapse; alongside astrantia, phlox and geraniums, though, they're fine.You'll be hard-pressed spotting any bare soil in my borders. Every inch is accounted for, and the display in June

are never just out of reach. Be warned however, that tiny trees do not produce a lot of fruit. Rootstock M27 will support a tree that will grow no bigger than about ten feet. For more information try the Brogdale Horticultural Trust.If you're in a very

.Well maybe not everybody - at most parties there are always a few stalwarts who just keep on dancing. In the garden many of these are grasses. They hang about in the background for most of the summer, providing support for the showier plants. They gaze