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I always have a dilemma in April, choosing the right plant supports for my tall border perennials, delphiniums in particular. Last year I used lots of home-grown sticks leftover from pruning my silver birch. Pushed firmly into the soil around clumps

expect your site is just the same. Yes, it's bean planting time and everyone is a-bustle on the site building all the wigwams, tunnels and trestles ready to support the massive growth of French and runner beans.Many people favour wigwams – I do

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

Choosing the very best plant supports for perennial plants is always a challenge. Firstly you've got to decide which type of plant support to go for. Should it be something robust made of metal, or something more natural, or even homemade?Then you

in with soft string at 10cm - 15cm intervals up the stems.For twining climbers such as cobaea, sweet peas and runner beans, tall tripods made from sticks or bamboo canes provide an ideal framework for their vigorous growth. Where necessary, their shoots can

Follow Joe Swift's step-by-step video demonstration to making your own rustic plant supports for climbers, from bamboo canes.all year roundMore on plant supportsCreating a metal obeliskConstructing a hazel trellisMaking a spiral plant supportSupporting

Pliable, young willow stems are the perfect material to use for making plant supports. Easy and quick to assemble, willow supports are attractive features in their own right, before they are eventually hidden by lush plant growth.Willow stems

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

should be able to buy all the ingredients for your plant support from a garden centre or DIY store for less than £10.Galvanised wire1.5m bamboo cane45cm terracotta potWire cuttersCompostIvy plantall year round30 minutesCut a 3m length of wire and bend

:FOR THE FILLING:10-15 plums, halved1 tablespoon of water1 tablespoon of sugarCinnamonMixed spice1 thumb-length of fresh gingerPreheat oven to 180°C . Cook the plums over a low heat with the water and sugar. When almost cooked, turn off the heat, allow to cool a