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. The stems are at least 3m tall and they bear vast leaves. It needs a fair bit of water so I planted it just by a downpipe on the house so it gets lots of rain.My second star plant is Persicaria polymorpha. It is planted by the door to the chicken shed

in clean water so probably still a bit risky!A great plant for the edge of a woodland or a large border although it does tend to seed itself in inappropriate places. The American Constitution was written in ink made from the berries of Pokeweed.

I have been greatly preoccupied with ponds recently. A client of mine has an unbelievably wet field - most of it squelches underfoot and any holes dug fill immediately with water - in which we have been digging ponds. These are not small ponds

is so unexpected and so swift that you're only able to take six plants from your existing garden.So which six plants will you choose? Will you go for something big - a favourite cherry or a noble oak? Maybe an evergreen to liven up your winter? A rose

for various clients. If you have not yet ordered then get your skates on as they are best bought at this time of year for winter planting. As were all plants until relatively recently - nurserymen dug up and split plants and then sent them out wrapped in paper

A client of mine said something curious to me this week, as we were discussing what to plant in her newly-landscaped garden: "I hope you're not going to give me any of those ghastly cabbagey things".Strangely, I instantly knew that she was talking

to love was Gerard Mullen's "Home abhaile" - clean modernist rendered walls with windows showing the view of the lake and some good pockets of planting: well done but not exactly original. I have seen it before and the point of shows like

of the brassica family, which is apparent in the flowers. It grows best near water, hence its presence by my ditch.As folklore has it, this plant is sacred to the fairies and is therefore unlucky if brought indoors. I have no idea what terrible revenge the fairies

I have just ordered a whopping great pile of manure. A couple of weeks ago we finished cutting everything back and hunting down any perennial weeds that were hiding beneath the plants in readiness for mulching: had it not snowed we would have

looked a little alien, so I've decided that this year I really ought to finish it off. Some of the tubes need copper tops and it also needs a focal point, some sort of central bowl from which the water will overflow.I also felt that the time had come