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Valerian, Centranthus ruber, is a pretty plant that produces bright pink-red, fragrant flowers from late-spring to late-summer, but it also produces masses of seed that germinates all over the garden. Butterflies love it, so if you want to encourage

Yesterday I discovered cuckoo spit on my red valerian (Centranthus ruber). It's considered a pest by many gardeners, but, for me, it's a symbol of great achievement: I've successfully converted a barren, paved courtyard into a lush, green (albeit

on removing weedsValerianPineapple weedJapanese knotweedGround elder

.established flowerbeds, freshly dug soil, cracks in paving, lawnsspring, summer, autumnMore advice on removing weedsWillowherbDockCouch grassValerian

and spray again if needed. Check again in spring. It can take 3 or 4 seasons to eradicate using glyphosate. Avoid spraying on a windy day and near other desirable plants. all over the gardenearly spring to autumnMore advice on removing weedsField bindweedValerian

-rich plants including achillea, astrantia, erigeron and verbascums.And, thanks to the warm, dry spring, the usual stalwarts of Chelsea - alliums and irises to name two - were few and far between. Instead, lavender, salvias, red valerian and geums took centre

of nectar and pollen for bees, butterflies and hoverflies.ValerianIf left to flower, fennel produces attractive yellow blooms that attract hoverflies. Seeds are eaten by birds in autumn and winter.FennelThe wild strawberry, Fragaria vesca, produces white

(and therefore the species that rely on them) is to provide them with breeding habitats. Unlike butterflies, which have quite specific breeding requirements, moths seem less fussy. I've found caterpillars on my foxgloves, primroses and valerian, and I