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, mysticism, strange tools and exotic outfits are purely optional. Just remember you're dealing with miniature trees not house plants; like trees they need cold winters, air, water and sunshine to thrive.For more information you could try the Federation

in the south-west. As well as feeding my young family out of our back garden, I squeeze in as many flowers as I can manage. This year I’m itching to sow the mouth-watering selection of flowers, veg, herbs and salads on offer through the Seed Club. The moment

early in winter before. I’m sure my friendly BBC weather forecaster will provide me with plenty more weather statistics when I next tune in.So, what does this mean for our plants and gardens? Firstly, take very great care walking out into your garden

windfalls are left beneath trees for blackbirds to peck at.Hedges and thick shrubs provide shelter and nesting sites - I could show you at least four sites around my garden where sparrows, blackbirds, robin and wren (I think) nested last year. Water

to cover fences, and are used to divide areas of the garden. I have a greenhouse where I can squeeze in about eight tomato plants, a couple of cucumbers, plus pots of aubergine, sweet peppers and chillies. And pots of strawberries too, as grown outside

brown and crumbly and smelling of fertility without much effort.I am lucky enough to have a fair bit of space to use as a compostery (I am almost certain that is not a real word but I rather like the sound of it) and the way that my garden is planted

To continue my (very) occasional series about interesting gardeners: have you ever heard of Johnny Appleseed? He is one of the folk heroes of American horticulture and has been immortalised not only in books but also in a song by the late, great Joe

their lawn was dead (well, mine did look dead) when I wrote about drought damage in the garden in my July blog, but didn't I tell you it would recover once rain came? Not that I'm feeling smug with my prediction. It's just that plants are great survivors

.I'd decided to leave all the seedlings emerging in the borders to see what they'd turn into. Trees, mostly. So I'll be removing them, along with some plants I'm donating to some friends, and adding nicer ones I recently dug up and divided from my mum's garden