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't quite cover them.Canes are OK, but again they don't look natural, especially when new. You also need to be a whizz with the green string, linking them together to support plants, tying in stems as they grow ever taller. And then you have to be careful

in half by wind and rain. In the end I had to tie each plant individually to a short cane.I'll use the same contingency plans during 2013, raising plants under cover in line with my Seed Sowing Masterplan. Do you have one? If not prepare it now, including

standard, in a large terracotta pot. I trained the main by tying it to a strong wooden stake, bending shoots round and weaving them together to create a domed head - rather like an umbrella on top of the main stem.Pruning has simply involved shortening

's not go there.The brown tubers look so unpromising when they arrive in the post from mail-order suppliers, but planted with the slightly concave surface upwards you'll soon spot signs of growth as green shoots emerge. Trailing varieties are available

attentive to plants, especially those in pots, baskets and growing bags. If compost is allowed to dry out plants soon suffer, and then the damage is done.Working gardeners away from home all day need to adopt growing plans that take the strain out

.Growth is quite upright at first, but these are twining plants that love to scramble. The tip of every leaf has a hooked end that helps it catch hold and climb. Lend a hand by tying to canes in the pots. With this in mind, growth can get top-heavy, so plant

.Many of these garlands were cleverly constructed from woven stems of willow or dogwood, with the same supple wands being used to tie in sprigs of evergreens, conifer and festive favourites like holly and ivy. Berries and seasonal fruits added colour. Angels were created

, and this is given its own tall vertical cane for support. Don't let plants scramble and make their own way to the top, but snip off every tendril you discover (almost a daily job) and attach shoots to canes with special ties, or wire rings. Any tendrils left

of chicken wire is quite expensive.A good alternative is to save large compost bags during the year and fill these with moist autumn leaves. I then tie their tops to prevent the contents drying out, punch a few small holes in the sides, and stack them out