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part. We all sowed our seeds, watered, tended and waited.Now, in late May, we should all have good, strong sunflowers ready to plant out (depending on where we live). Mine have been outside in pots for about three weeks now, but I only planted them

like beetroot, seed. Again, the plant will focus its energy on seed production at the expense of the leaf, or root you are growing it for. Remove flowers as soon as you see them, water well. Moving the pot to a shadier spot can also help (sun can stress

certainly in trouble and will need help. Pick the hedgehog up using an old towel or a pair of thick gardening gloves. Keep it warm by placing it on a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel, in a high-sided box lined with newspaper, and then place another towel

of hot water on the surface, allowing the base of the pan to melt a hole. Then leave a plastic ball in the hole overnight, and remove it the following morning when the pond surface has refrozen. This enables noxious gases to leave the pond. ARC also warns

, and nor do they need watering. Not so, says a San Diego resident I recently met. All her neighbours have fake lawns, they stand in their yards on a Saturday morning 'watering' them with their hoses. Artificial grass gets dusty apparently.

I've just thrown a 'plant party', as part of 'Grow Your Own' Week. This involved my friends coming to my flat and learning how to sow tomatoes and chillies. We also discussed pricking out, transplanting, feeding and watering. It reminded me of my

Exeter, who fed his plants using liquid manure and water from his washing up bowl due to the drought). Wouldn't it be lovely if we brought the record back home?We're all joining in at Gardeners' World magazine, and I'm keen to beat the likes of Adam Pasco

in late-summer. But, as I watched the tadpoles swim in an ever decreasing puddle of muddy water, I realised I would have to intervene. I try not to intervene with events in the natural world, but I consider the draining of a man-made pond to be quite

pot is looking a bit worse for wear. I blame the hard winter, the lack of sun, and possibly vine weevils. I also might have neglected it a little too much (I can't remember when I last watered it). Last year the pot was crammed with rosemary, chives

rushed indoors to fetch cotton wool and warm water to dress its wound, and then put a plaster on it. (The poor worm, I don't know why my mum didn't stop me.)By the time I was eleven, I had a veg plot of my own. Then, after a brief teenage interlude, I