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The Victorians knew their plants, and the gorgeous hot water plant, achimene, was one of their favourites. Who can resist the charms of this little beauty, a relative of the African violet and Cape primrose. I'm a great fan of the gesneriad family

quantities per m³ of estimated water volume. Since the park was revamped a year or so ago it is a delightful place to wander, but the pond was always the low point. There are now recently installed baskets of water plants (more needed I think), and wire

to encourage good cross-pollination between plants, each plant needs space to grow. This year each plant is at least 30-45cm (12-18in) from its neighbours, which should be enough.I'm trying a few varieties this year, including 'Swift', which is described as "an

them well watered in dry weather.Clean straw or synthetic mulch fabricProtective nettingSeep hose (optional)April - June 20 minutesharvest from June to JulyWeed around your strawberry plants and remove any dead or dying leaves. Lift the foliage

the right plant for the right place can be a difficult task, and the reality is that often the site we have is far from ideal.Take the left-hand border in my garden. A beautiful silver birch sits close to the boundary fence, but at about 10m or more

Blustery crisp days and cold nights, north winds, sleet, hail, snow and cold rain. It's amazing with this mixture of weather that plants manage to plod their way into spring.I was very excited this week to notice that one of my favourite herbs

Where have all the flowers gone? Why did it have to happen now? Just as I had been lulled in to a false sense of security the heavens opened again. There's been enough rain to fill all of my water butts several times over and the ground is now a

, 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

, using railway sleepers, three high (about 50 cm), to make a raised water body. Triangular in shape, 2 metres long, with a deep corner dug down a further 50 cm and a shallow corner for marginal plants. Three species of damselfly, two species of dragonfly

the trip in my tiny motor - but I thought it would pick up. And it would have if I'd treated it well; planting it with plenty of organic matter and bone meal, pruning off the dead, diseased and damaged wood, and watering it in the dry summer last year