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water once a week or so, and dunk the whole pot and roots right down for a good soak. They love it, especially when I add the occasional drop of liquid feed.Supermarkets and garden centres sell such wonderful phalaenopsis, and if you pay a little more

the warmth of the kitchen beckons. But I'm not returning alone. A single pure, perfect flower is carefully plucked, to be floated in a small glass bowl of water and used as decoration for the dinner table. The whole family can now admire its beauty without

to be kept watered to avoid drying out. OK, its flowers don't last long. Like its relative the hippeastrum, flowers last for about three weeks from first colour to fall, but these are weeks of pure enjoyment. Once they fall I'll cut down the old flower spike

boxes. I just tear them up into small pieces and mix them in with other kitchen waste and lawn clippings. If the compost heap looks a bit dry then I soak the cardboard in water before adding to help it break down. It's surprising just how much plain

distraction. Last autumn I stopped watering my begonias and left the plants to die down on their own, thinking their tubers could safely overwinter in pots of dry compost. How wrong I was. I've just tipped some out to replant into fresh compost but discovered

down gradually by reducing watering in autumn, then overwinter their tubers to replant next spring.Calla lilies have a tongue-twister of a botanical name: Zantedeschia. They grow from dormant tubers (well I think that's what they are). They need a good

'm after - and I usually am - then my only option is to buy plants.With at least another two months of enjoyment to come I'll just keep an eye on watering from now on, adding a liquid feed about once a week to keep plants growing strongly. Then I'll brush

 and John Innes No.3 loam-based compost. All this weight provides extra stability to prevent the trees catching the wind and toppling over. These acers are no more demanding than any plants in pots, and just need regular watering and feeding.The foliage

on a few seeds, cover and water. Within weeks there will be delicious, fresh leaves, ready for picking.Many crops can be grown in pots, making them perfect for tiny gardens. It pays to start by filling your limited space with the crops you enjoy

ways. The oldest variety I grow, and the earliest to flower, is 'St Ewe', which I planted directly into my border soil. Now I wouldn't claim my clay soil is ideal for camellias, which enjoy a lime-free and water-retentive soil, but this one has