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planting any climber up it, to keep its lines clear and visible.More support ideas for climbing plantsMake a hazel trellis.Make a spiral support.Use supports for climbing plants.Tie in your plants.

straining bolts attached to vine eyes, which is all very nautical and satisfying. Maintenance is easy - a quick haircut twice a year and tying the shoots into the straining wires with string. A relatively simple way to turn a bit of an ugly duckling into a

was tied to a chair and whipped with an electric flex).I could go on but may come over as unnecessarily curmudgeonly. To conclude: any daffodil with pink in it should be burnt and wishy washy variegated phormiums should be recycled prior to germination

carefully slip split canes down the sides of the pot and tie in the thick fleshy stems with soft green string.Then come the flowers; I usually bring a pot indoors to brighten the kitchen window sill while I'm doing the washing up - it's good to have a

, the downpours and hail storms damage the plants and split them apart, so we have to tie up the soft growth on each plant before placing it outside. French tarragon, Artemisia dracunculus, is a case in point. I love stories associated with tarragon. Dracunculus

, for insurance, take a few photographs. It's then taken down and we tidy each selected plant. With some plants we have to tie up loose branches so that they are not damaged in transit. We also make sure that each plant is well watered before packing.This year I

and frolicsome fairies (incidentally, if you feel that you need protection from fairies then you should carry twigs of hawthorn, ash and oak tied together with red thread).Among other interesting stories: hawthorn used to be called 'bread and cheese' because

. Although I can get a bit tied up in the corner that's riddled with couch grass - you can keep on digging and finding more and more of those long white stolons - in the end you just have to stop and say 'no more'. At least for now...

.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

'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