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In most years I usually plant some of the more tender veg crops, such as courgette and squash, by late April. If I had done so this year, the plants would be dead by now, as May was so unusually cold. (And I don't even think the chunky bell cloches

and persistent winds.On Monday a full-sized water butt broke free from one of the greenhouses, spilled what water it contained and then right down the hill and ended up by the front door; trees and shrubs have literally had their leaves torn from the stems; less

I couldn't be happier. The sun is shining and it almost feels as if spring is here.  Just last week there was standing water in the bottom few feet of one of my plots; the soil was completely submerged and saturated. Conditions were so wet

aluminium foil sheets around the plants, in the hope that they will help to reflect light back on the seedlings and improve their chances of growing into healthy plants.I can never find a decent, slimline dibber, so use a blunt pencil instead. I find

and tunnels, and moved all pots out of direct sunlight.Even a bit of temporary shade is worth it, as it's made a huge difference to the plants. In the greenhouse the brick pathway was regularly dampened down with a can of water. Damping down may be an old

planted some miniature daffodil bulbs in large pots, and finally, sowed some rocket (I couldn't resist growing some more, even if it does grow rather slowly from such a late sowing).So, not a bad day’s work: I sowed some lunch ingredients for the family

slightly (a symptom of waterlogged soil), but this shouldn't inhibit the bulb growth. The reason for my success is simple - I plant the cloves on a ridge, and I'd suggest that anyone growing garlic in similar conditions do the same. The ridge height varies