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are out there gardening (or those looking for an excuse to be out of the house - sometimes rain dripping down your neck can seem a much more attractive option than ironing).You could pass some time tidying the shed or pootling around in the greenhouse

of miniaturized people, buildings and landscape, they seem overly large, but this is just an optical illusion.There is a stark contrast between the Model Village garden and my own. The former is intensively managed - weeded, clipped, tidied, mulched and tilled

have two stately yews that stand sentry outside my kitchen window and a cluster of tall beech columns on the lawn. The tidy minded may not approve of the latter as it interferes with a perfect green lawn, but they look great in both winter and summer

more and more congested. To many observers the bushes simply didn't look as attractive.So while pruning allows us to 'tidy up' rose bushes, it's important not to get carried away. Dead shoots: bad. Crossing and rubbing stems: bad. Small shoots may

in May. Would they have checked for nesting birds?As gardeners we're conditioned to work with wildlife. We avoid tidying borders in winter, trimming hedges in nesting season, and are frequently reminded of the benefits of having a pond. But this message

such as compost heaps, long grass and mouse holes.My mum grows a huge range of nectar-rich flowers from March through to November, but her garden's too tidy for bees and butterflies to breed in. Her next door neighbours have a messy garden with some long grass

stop to our normal November gardening routine. I would usually be spending jolly weekends doing a bit of light tidying, collecting the last of the autumn leaves and planting the last of the tulip bulbs. Instead we have been shoveling snow out

boost local insect populations by not using bug sprays and being less tidy in autumn (providing insects with somewhere to shelter over winter will ensure they survive to breed in spring). Planting native trees and shrubs will also provide food

, but leave the compost 2.5cm below it, making a dip in the centre. Plant the upright Pelargonium 'Lady Plymouth' in the middle, with the five sutera around it.Firm the compost down well. Tidy up any damaged plants and water the basket thoroughly. Check

into your garden at night with a torch and pick up as many slugs as possible. I used to pay my children to go out with collecting buckets to do this. Their record was 496 (that was an expensive evening).Try and keep the garden relatively tidy: slugs love